Let me love you
by Emerald loves Sapphire
Summary: After Enzo and Sasha become trapped in an elevator, they soon find themselves in a world that neither of them could have ever prepared for. Set in a parallel universe of the "Entitlements and Deception" series. It's another wild story. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1: And somehow it all started here…**

 **A/N:** Yes I know I've been gone for a while but we all gotta take breaks sometimes. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish my other story. As some may know, I like to write plenty of plot twists haha. This story is rated T for now…I don't own WWE but in my stories, I own the personalities of the characters I write about so without further ado…

 **A/N: Seeing as it appears people are still interested in the story, I've decided to continue it considering its fictional. Also, nothing of the nature that is going on in the media is going to occur in this story. I have already written out an entire series sometime ago (spoiler alert). I'll post the next chapter as soon as my tendonitis resolves. I didn't get it from writing so much, it came from work. The poll again will be left up in my bio page until the end of the month and please leave comments in the review section if you have them. **

**~Emerald loves Sapphire~**

* * *

It was the night of December 19th, 2016 when Sasha was wrapping up for the evening as she prepared to exit the stadium in which she was understandably exhausted. As she made her way backstage towards the elevator, she ran into two of her best friends, Bayley and Alexa Bliss. "Carpooling with us tonight?" Bayley asked. "Lexie here promises that she'll drive smoothly for now on."

"Hey I'm not the world's worst driver" said Alexa. "But yeah Mercedes, we're gonna be a full one this evening." "She's hoping to take Taylor along with us for the ride" Bayley teased. "Wait. Are you serious?" Sasha chuckled. "Thanks a lot Pam for blowing my little secret" Alexa laughed. "It's nothing serious." "Yet" Bayley teased. Alexa playfully rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm glad to see that you've finally moved on to someone much healthier for you" said Sasha. "However, I'm afraid I'll have to decline your offer tonight ladies as I'm taking my own rental car back to the hotel." "Are you sure?" asked Bayley. "I'm sure" said Sasha. "But next week I'll go right back to carpooling." "Alright text me when you're there" said Alexa. "Will do" Sasha said as she continued her way on.

After several minutes she finally reached the elevator and as the doors were beginning the close, they suddenly flung back open as a result of someone's arms stopping it. "Hold it! Hold it!" the voice said and it was at that moment did Sasha's life began to forever change. "Ugh it's you" she said. The voice belonged to Enzo Amore. "Man am I not glad to see you here" said Sasha. "Relax shorty" said Enzo. "I'm only making a relatively normal escape." "Escape from what? Reality?" Sasha asked.

"Oh so we're Miss sarcastic here" said Enzo. "For your information-not that it's any of your business-I'm escaping from the crowd." Sasha scoffed. "Crowd? What crowd?" "The crowd that loves me baby" Enzo said as he placed on his sunglasses. "Whatever I'm outta here. I can wait until it comes back down" Sasha said as she began to press the elevator door button to open but when it became abundantly clear that it wasn't working, she became agitated.

"You're not doing it right" said Enzo as the two began to suddenly fight over the button. "I know what I'm doing! I know how to work a damn elevator! I'm 24 years-old!" Sasha yelled. "Yeah well I'm 30 but whose countin'?" Enzo hissed. As the two continued to argue, the elevator suddenly dropped. " **HOLY SHIT!** " the two yelled.

* * *

After a few moments, the two collected themselves before talking.

"What the fuck happened?" Sasha. "The elevator jumped Miss I-know-it-all" Enzo sarcastically answered. "No shit Mr. Smartass but the damn elevator fell or are you missing that many brain cells?" Sasha said. Enzo rolled his eyes. As the lights began to flicker on and off, he began to realize the seriousness of the situation. "Ugh Sash? It looks like we're gonna be here for a while."

"A while? What do you mean a while?" Sasha asked. "Mercedes, we're stuck in this elevator" said Enzo. "Great just great" Sasha said as she started banging on the doors. " **HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP!** " "Damn Sash, and you said I'm the one with the lack of brain cells" said Enzo. "I said missing, not lack of" said Sasha.

"Yeah, yeah same shit different toilet" said Enzo as he pulled out his iPhone. "Luckily we're in the 21st century where we have these babies." As he dialed for help, Sasha took a seat back next to her stuff. She folded her arms as she looked at the 5'10 tatted up superstar and as he concluded his call, he turned to her and chuckled.

"What? See something you like?" he teased. "Eric, you're an idiot" Sasha said as she rolled her eyes. "Are you sure because you were eyeballing the life outta me" said Enzo. "Just tell me what the operator said" Sasha demanded. "Not until you admit you were checking me out" Enzo continued teasing. "I wasn't" said Sasha. "I mean it's pretty hard to look at anything else considering you were blocking my view of 99% of the elevator."

Enzo chuckled again. "See now, you just admitted to me that it was hard for you to look at anything else but me" he said. "Besides you could've looked at your phone." "Shut up" Sasha said. "Alright, alright so you're one of the shy ones" said Enzo. "I get it I mean look at me. Look at me. Everyone woman in the world wants to be with me so I don't blame you. I take pride on myself in taking care of it. Sadly, I can only be with one person at a time." "That's not what I heard" Sasha muttered.

"What was that?" Enzo asked. "Nothing" Sasha lied. "Now are you gonna tell me what they said?" "I already told you Sash" said Eric. "Not until you admit that you were checking out my physique." "Alright" Sasha said as she stood up and walked up close to Enzo, he suddenly was caught off guard at how fast his heart was beating. "Mercedes…?" But before Enzo could finish his thought, Sasha shoved him against the elevator wall.

"Now listen here" she said. "I can promise you that I wasn't checking you out. **GOT IT!?** " Enzo rolled his eyes and he removed her hands from off him. "Sure" he said. "But remember, you're the one who made the first move by putting your hands on me first." "You're an idiot" Sasha said as she made her way back over to her belongings to take a seat.

Enzo sat directly across from her. "She said help is on the way" Enzo said. "But we could be stuck here for quite some time because based off of what I told her, we're in the basement, but we're stuck in-between the floors. Sasha let out a sigh as Enzo continued talking. "What's with you anyway?" he asked. "There was once a time when we were friends." "I don't like people who hurt my friends especially guys like you" she said.

"Guys like me how?" Enzo asked but before Sasha could answer, it donned on him what she meant by that. "Oh" he continued. "You mean Alexis? Mercedes it was over a year ago and it wasn't that serious." "Over a year ago? Wasn't that serious?" Sasha scoffed. "You guys are all the same."

"Hey now don't go and comparing me to anyone" said Enzo. "I'm the best in the world." "You're the realist idiot in the world. You're nowhere near Punk" said Sasha. "Punk? I'm talking about myself baby girl. In this world, you gotta look out for yourself and love yourself to the max." Sasha rolled her eyes in disgust. "You're way too full of yourself and it's so sad." "Don't hate the player baby" said Enzo. "Hate the game." "I'm not your baby so stop calling me that" said Sasha. "You were in a relationship with her and you cheated on her. Stop trying to get around it."

"No I didn't" said Enzo. "Pursuing someone isn't the same as dating them." "You were pursuing her for 6 months and then when you saw something else that caught your eye, you left her" said Sasha. "High and dry."

"Let's get one thing straight here" said Enzo. "Alexa maybe one of your best friends in your cute little clique but that doesn't mean she tells you everything. Now I'm sure she's told you my side, well here's mine. Sure there was a mutual attraction going on and yes, we went out on a coupla dates but when I met Mandy…I just…we didn't work out anymore" said Enzo. "It happens." "Cheating happens?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah cheating happens" said Enzo. "But that doesn't make it right and I've learned from my mistakes from my past. All of them." "Sure you have" said Sasha. "That's up to you if you wanna believe me or not" said Enzo as his phone rang.

"Who is it?" Sasha asked. "It's the operator" said Enzo as he answered. "Hello? Yeah is Eric Arndt. Yeah there's someone else with me in here. There's just one other person. A woman. Mercedes Ka-Kay…Mercedes something Varnado. Yeah, no we haven't had anyone make contact with us yet. Oh I'll say that we've been here for about 90 minutes or so? Are **YOU MOTHERFUCKING SERIOUS!**?" Enzo let out a long sigh. "I see…thanks for letting us know. No ma'am I just find that to be absolutely absurd that you're gonna have us go through that. Nah man that ain't even humane."

As he ended the phone call, his worried facial expression troubled Sasha. "Fuckin' ridiculous" he muttered. "What'd she say?" "She told us we could be in here for up to 8 hours" said Enzo. " **8 HOURS!? WHY!?** " Sasha panicked.

"Because of our location and the age of the elevator" said Enzo. "That doesn't even make any sense" Sasha said. "You're tellin' me?" Enzo said as he pointed to himself. "How'd you think I felt when she told me all of that shit?" Sasha shook her head in disbelief. "I come into to work on time like I'm supposed and I leave on time like I'm supposed to, do what I'm supposed to and this is how my life choses to reward me?"

"But she said that they're here, they're just struggling on how to get a line through us" Enzo said. "We're screwed" said Sasha. "Totally screwed…"

 **A/N: Review if you want the story to continue.**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2: Butterfly effect**

A few more hours passed and traded insults slowly began to turn into rather…soft but humorous and yet sarcastic comments between the two. Unfortunately, the brief moment of repose could only last but so long given their situation. By now it was nearly 3AM when Sasha's phone officially died along with the rest of her patience.

"This is insane" said Sasha. "It's so damn small and airless in here." As she began to fan herself, Enzo couldn't help but smirk. "And it's also so hot in here too" he said suggestively. "Apparently the lack of oxygen is cutting off what little air ever managed to reach your pea-sized brain" Sasha sniped. She let out a deep sigh. "So damn small and hot! Where's all the air?"

Enzo chuckled. "What are ya, claustrophobic or somethin'?" "Y-yes" Sasha said as she began rasping for air. "Now that's quite hilarious" Enzo laughed. "You? Claustrophobic?" "It isn't funny you asshole!" Sasha yelled. "I'm…I'm really…" she paused as she struggled for breath.

"It is to me" said Enzo. "Quit faking it." "I'm not…you ignorant fuck!" Sasha choked. She placed her hands over her chest as she began to dry heave. Suddenly Enzo's attitude of amusement quickly changed to a one of concern. "Hey…" he asked. "Are you okay?" Unfortunately Sasha could no longer answer as she was now in the middle of a full-blown panic attack. Her complexion suddenly reddened as she collapsed to the ground.

"Yo Mercedes you alright?" Enzo asked. "I'm serious girl!" "I…I can't…" Sasha said as she struggled for air. "It's going to be alright" said Enzo. "You gotta calm down. Calm down and take deep breaths. You know? In and out." Enzo was left to feel helpless as he did his best to attempt to get her through an anxiety attack. "Mercedes!" he called out to her. "You gotta calm down or else ya gonna make it worse for yourself." He stood up and walk over to her.

"Mercedes! Mercedes!" he said as he placed his arm on hers. "Take it easy. Take deep breaths" he encouraged. "It'll be alright..."

* * *

About another hour had passed and by now, Sasha was able to calm down from her panic attack. By now Enzo had made his way back over to his side and after that event, he promised himself that he would keep an eye on her for the duration of their predicament.

"You kinda worried me a bit back then" he said, finally breaking their silence. "What the hell happened to ya? What was that all about?" "It's none of your business" Sasha griped.

"Yeah well as long as you're in here with me, it is my business" Enzo said sternly. "Whatever" Sasha said as she rolled her eyes. "I'm serious" said Enzo. "Yeah well I'm serious too" Sasha said. "I thought you said you were gonna make peace with me?" said Enzo. "Like I'd ever agree to that" Sasha said. Enzo let out a sigh. "Whatever you say girl".

"This is the worst night of my life" Sasha complained. "Remind me again exactly how long does it take for someone to rescue trapped people in an elevator?" Enzo shook his head in annoyance. He couldn't believe how he had literally just helped her get through a massive panic attack and she didn't even want to acknowledge it. For the sake of attempting to maintain an open line with her, some sort of makeshift peace with her, he decided to again make light of their situation.

"Well according to google the longest was…" "Wait" Sasha said as she interrupted him. "How in the hell is your phone still…alive?" "Because I have a built in charger into the phone case" said Enzo. "You really oughta invest in one of these things. It's 2016 after all."

"Eric, shut up" Sasha said as her stomach began to rumble. "Great now I'm starving." "There's a protein bar in my bag. You can have it if you like" said Enzo. "Oh gee, aren't you always the prepared one?" Sasha said as she got up and reached for his duffle bag. "No Mercedes, it's just that I like to carry around snacks and gum just like anyone else would" said Enzo. "Uh huh. Sure" Sasha said as she began eating.

"You're welcome?" Enzo said. Sasha waved as she made her way back over to a corner, this time facing Enzo diagonally. "I wonder why this isn't trending yet" he said. "Eric, how much more self-absorbed can you possibly get?" Sasha asked. "We've been trapped in this damn elevator for 5 hours and all you're worried about is if we're trending on Twitter?"

"No I'm worried about if _I'm_ trending online. Not you" said Enzo. "Besides in addition to checking myself out in the mirror 7 times a day, I like to google myself. I find it to be very therapeutic."

"You're such an asshole" said Sasha. "And an ignorant fuck at that." "Hey, hey hey" said Enzo. "Now I thought you were playing nice with me?" Sasha scoffed. "Play nice with you? Nice try." "You should at least try to ease up on me" said Enzo. "I don't have to do anything you tell me to" said Sasha. "And if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess with you. I think we've been sharing the same air in here for a little too long."

"And I'm the selfish one here?" Enzo said. "What you've seen to forget here Sash is that we are in this thang, to-get-her." "Well maybe if you weren't fighting with me over by pressing the damn button we wouldn't be-" "Get over yourself Mercedes" said Enzo. "Get over myself? Me get over myself? You of all people shouldn't even be telling me this" said Sasha. "Yeah actually I should" said Enzo. "And here's why-"

"I don't really care anymore Eric" said Sasha. "So please spare me another one of your machismo speeches. We're aren't on air anymore."

Enzo shook his head as he let out a frustrated sighed. "You know what" he said. "All you've ever done since we've been in here is bash the fuck outta me and here I am just trying to keep you calm through a fucking panic attack and I fucking fed you!" "You act like I'm your girl or something" said Sasha. "Like I owe you something and I don't." "Yeah you do" said Enzo. "A thank you would be nice. It means something. It goes a long way."

"Nothing ever goes a long way with you" said Sasha. "You act like I ain't human or something" said Enzo. "And it that bothers me, considering like I said earlier-we used to be friends." "Well that was then and this is now" Sasha said coldly. "Why are being so cold to me?" Enzo asked. "Because" said Sasha. "You deserve it." "No I don't" said Enzo. "Yeah actually you really do" said Sasha. "You're always so full of yourself, so damn cocky and for what? It's not like anyone here really cares about you."

"That really hurts" said Enzo. "And like I keep telling you-I. Don't **. CARE!** " Sasha said. "No Mercedes, I'm serious" said Enzo. Sasha let out another frustrated sigh. "Man am I so glad that I'm not Mandy" she said. "And noooo wonder Alexa badmouths you constantly."

"Look Mercedes" said Enzo. "If Alexis can't get over last year and if she hasn't by now then it's obviously not my problem. It's hers. Now as for you I'd appreciate it if you'd stop treating me like shit especially when I'm doing my best to get through this problem too and it would really help me-help us if you'd stop and change your attitude."

"I don't have to change anything" Sasha angrily said. "You know it could be worse" said Enzo. "Far worse. At least you're not stuck in this shit alone." "I rather be alone than to be with you" said Sasha. "Just get over yourself" said Enzo. "Get off your high horse. This ain't the fucking spa we're at. We're in some pretty deep shit right now and if you weren't too caught up bitching at me every second, you'd notice that."

"You know what Eric I-" but before Sasha could finish, the elevator suddenly jolted again and this time, it was even more violent than before. Sasha let out a blood curdling and terrifying scream and it was in that moment, Enzo instinctively got up to wrap his arms around Sasha to comfort her while shielding her from a piece of ceiling and other debris that fell.

" **OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!** " Sasha screamed. " **WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE! WE'RE GONNA DIE!** " "No we're not" Enzo said reassuringly. " **NO ERIC IT ISN'T!** " Sasha screamed. As she continued screaming, Enzo did his best to hold onto her as tightly as he could. "Please Mary let it be okay" he said as he whispered his prayer. "Please let it be okay. Let us be okay."

* * *

A few moments later, the elevator ceased moving and along with that, the lights went out, leaving the pair completely in the dark. As Sasha started to sob, Enzo continued to hold her. He had never heard her yell like that, let alone anyone else in his life and whether or not he'd ever chose to admit it, he was scared. Very scared.

"Mercedes it's alright now" he said softly. "See we didn't die yet. We're still alive." "B-barely" Sasha sniffled. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you" Enzo said. "I promise." As he continued to hold onto her, he suddenly noticed just how good she smelled and as he did, his heartbeat began to change.

"Oh no…" he said softly. "What!?" Sasha panicked. "Nothing" Enzo lied. "You know Eric, you can let go of me" said Sasha. "S-sorry" Enzo said as he released his hold. "Eric I'm really scared" Sasha said. "We've been down here a really long time and I don't know what's taking them so long and we almost just died."

"Well look on the bright side" said Enzo. "At least we can sue the state of Pennsylvania after this." "No, no Eric I'm serious" Sasha cried. "I'm really scared. She sat up against her corner and pressed her knees up against her face as she did her best to hide the fact that tears were welling up in her eyes, despite the fact that they were in total darkness. It was almost as though she were ashamed of letting him know just how vulnerable she really was.

"Hey Mercedes…" said Enzo. "Yes?" Sasha answered. "Will ya tell me why you hate me so much?" Enzo asked. Sasha remained quiet for a while after that question and it wasn't because she needed to come up with an answer-she already knew it. It was just that she didn't know how to say it, or rather much less anything anymore.

Enzo reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone and decided to turn on the flashlight as he needed some source of light. He surveyed the damage and he saw that it was really bad, so in order to make sure that Sasha remained calm, he decided to keep what he saw to himself.

"I don't hate you Eric it's just that you really hurt one of my good friends" Sasha said as she finally spoke. "I'm sorry I did" said Enzo. "I didn't mean to. I really didn't and I'm sorry she hasn't gotten over it yet but one day, she will. Trust me."

Sasha scoffed. "Trust you? Why should I trust you?" "Because Sasha, you already did" said Enzo. "Please now you're just telling lies" Sasha said. Enzo crawled over towards her. "I'm not lying Mercedes and you know I'm not."

She turned to face him. As she stared into those pale blue eyes, she somehow began to see something different in him. Much different but she just didn't know what it was yet. Enzo continued staring into her soft hazel eyes and it was at that moment did he realize that he was beginning to feel something warm about her. He never broke his gaze off of her all while his heartbeat rapidly increased.

"And I'm real sorry about making fun of you like that…" he said softly. "I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I was wrong for that." As he continued to look into her eyes as she did into his, a sudden overwhelming urge came over him, one that he could no longer control.

"Eric I-" she was suddenly interrupted as the he leaned down to place his lips on hers and immediately began kissing her and somehow, she didn't find herself revolting in disgust. Somehow, it didn't feel so bad…in fact, it felt good. Really good. As their soft kisses deepened, she felt her own heart rate increasing. Enzo wrapped his arm around her and the two instantly found themselves on the floor with Sasha on top of him as their kissing intensified. Moans escaped their mouths as the two barely let the other have enough time to catch their breaths.

Both were caught off guard as two how quickly things started to escalate in that elevator but despite that, they continued. It simply felt way too good for either of them to stop. As Enzo felt himself becoming aroused, his hands traveled down to her waist as she cupped his face. " _Sweet Mother of Jesus_ " he thought. " _I'm not prepared for this._ "

* * *

After a few minutes, the two pulled themselves apart from each other just as the lights began to flicker back on. The two stared at each other in silence, unsure of what to say or think let alone feel. The silence wasn't pierced until the sound of someone began to pierce through the walls.

"What was that?" Sasha asked as she quickly got off of him. "I dunno it sounds like its coming from above us" said Enzo. Suddenly as they looked up, they could see that the latch to the ceiling was being removed. Enzo sat up as well and pulled Sasha closer to him so that she would be again out of any possible danger. "I'm scared Eric" she said. "Don't be" said Enzo. "I'm here."

"Well hello folks" said the fireman cheerfully. "We're terribly sorry to have keep you waiting but this elevator is so damn old, we couldn't find a contracting service to help us rewire it until about 45 minutes ago." "It's about fucking time" said Enzo. "Way to let people die in here." "Again we're terribly sorry" said the fireman. "We ran into one technical difficulty after another." "Excuses, excuses" said Enzo. "We almost died in here."

The two were both relieved to realize that they were finally saved. After a latter was lowered down for the two, Enzo followed Sasha out as the two were led back up into the floor in which the backstage was. There they were greeted by a team of paramedics, Triple H and other company officials.

"Mercedes, Eric are you guys alright?" Triple H asked. "Yeah just a bit shaken up but other than that…I'm alright" said Sasha. "Or at least I think I am." "I'm good" said Enzo. "I'm just glad as hell that I ain't stuck in that steel thing anymore."

"Well let's just get you checked out to be sure" said Triple H. "After all you did fall about 3 stories." "W-what you mean?" asked Sasha. "Well there's the first floor were you guys originally came up and eventually fell from" said Triple H. "Then there's the backstage floor and the underground parking and you can see we're on the B2 level, meaning we're on the second floor of the underground parking."

"You mean we fell that far down?" Enzo asked. "I'm afraid so" said Triple H. "I'm glad to hear that you two were safe and I just want to let you both know that we will be conducting a full scale investigation." As the two were led to separate ambulances, Sasha sat at the edge of her stretcher and watched as Enzo removed his hoodie so that he could be checked out.

A million thoughts raced through her mind as she began to recall what they had done in that elevator. She couldn't believe that what had happened. What troubled her the most was not only that they kissed each other, that she liked it and she knew where it could have ended up. She never once took her eyes off of him as he was examined. She watched as he presumably made jokes with the paramedics and laughed and it was then did she realized that she needed to say something-anything to him about it and it had to been that night.

After the two were clear, Sasha stepped out of her ambulance and approached Enzo who was redressing himself and gathering up his belongings.

"Listen Eric" she said. "I'm sorry about what happened in there, you know how I treated you and stuff." "Don't worry about it" said Enzo. "It's called life. Shit happens." "And about the kiss..." Sasha continued. "It was just a heat of the moment sort of thing so…I'm sorry about that as well." Enzo cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Seriously" said Sasha. Enzo couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointment in her words. She placed her hand on his shoulder in reassurance before she turned to leave.

"Hey Mercedes" said Enzo. "It's like 6 in the morning but it's still dark out. I don't wanna let you walk out of here alone." "Thank you" said Sasha. "But trust me I'm alright. See you in a few days."

With that, she turned and continued to walk away, leaving Enzo with the full-blown realization that he has begun to have feelings for. The problem was, he was already 9 months into a very serious relationship with Mandy and he was now faced with a serious dilemma.

 **A/N: Thanks for your follows and reviews. Let me know if you want this to continue of course as always with feedback.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3: Love galore**

A few days passed and it was now December 26th when Sasha was sitting at a table in the cafeteria when Alexa walked up to her. "There you are girly! The girls and I've been worried about you all week. I hope your Christmas was great. What happened to you?"

"It was just fine" said Sasha. "And I hope yours was good too." "It was" said Alexa. "But seriously what happened to you?" "I got stuck in an elevator for 6 hours with Eric" said Sasha. "My phone died but it still hasn't turned back on since hooking it back up." "Well hopefully you'll get it fixed soon" said Alexa. "How was it like?" "Interesting and terrifying at the same time" said Sasha.

"Ewww" Alexa said. "Stuck in a tiny elevator with Eric for 6 hours sounds like quite the nightmare…torture even." "Actually…" said Sasha. "It wasn't." "You don't have to make me laugh Mercedes" said Alexa. "We both know that that guy is no good news for anyone-especially women."

"If you say so" said Sasha. "Say so? I know so" said Alexa. "Remember you saw badly he fucked me up?" "Yes I know" said Sasha. "I'm just thankfully it was only mentally and emotionally" said Alexa. "I know that sounds even more fucked up but yeah I mean it."

"Sometimes people change" said Sasha. "Eric's not one of those who do" said Alexa. "Now I know that you've known him a lot longer than me and that you two had that little storyline earlier this year-but he isn't good news." Sasha nodded as she realized this wasn't the right time to bring up that the night she was with Enzo, she had begun to see something different in him.

As Alexa continued to talk, she noticed that Enzo and Mandy had also entered into the cafeteria to see what was on the catering menu. As she watched them, she instantly had a brief flashback to when she and Enzo kissed but as soon as she entered the flashback, Alexa slammed her hand onto the table to break her daydream.

" **SASHA!** " she said. "Hello Earth to Mercedes? Are you paying attention to me or what?" "Huh?" Sasha asked. Alexa laughed. "I said, aren't you going to the company's annual New Year's party or what? Jeez you seem hella distracted." "I'm not" Sasha lied. "Anyways, please don't tell me that they still throw those things?" "Yeah of course they do. Every year" said Alexa.

"Sure where is it again this year?" Sasha asked while taking a quick glance at Enzo. She noticed that his usually wild blond hair was now neatly tied up in a bun and he was wearing a muscle tee of his merch which provided Sasha a much better view of his toned body. " _Oh shit…_ " she thought. " _He actually cleans up nice._ "

"Anaheim" said Alexa. "Because the next day we're going live in Tampa." "Like that makes any sort of sense" said Sasha. "Well don't look at me. I'm not in charge of the bookings" Alexa. "But you're definitely going right?" "Affirmative" said Sasha. "Good because I sort of wanted to try to see if I could do like a ladies luncheon with the girls" said Alexa.

"All of the girls?" asked Sasha. "Well not all of them" said Alexa. "Mandy's not allowed." "Could guys come too?" asked Sasha. "Well no that's silly" said Alexa. "It's called a ladies luncheon for a reason and besides I'm going to do a sleepover at my place but just out of curiosity, who'd you have in mind?" Sasha quickly snatched away her glances from Enzo who was now laughing and enjoying his meal with his girlfriend Mandy.

"Ok Sash If you don't wanna tell me then you most certainly don't have to" said Alexa. "Thanks" said Sasha. As Alexa continued her conversation, she looked back up at Enzo who wrapped his arm around Mandy and at that moment, they locked eyes, causing him to smile in amusement. Sasha folded her lips and turned away her glances to focus on her friend's words again. "So then that settles it" said Alexa. "I'm having Nia, you, Pam, Trin and Victoria come along."

"You didn't invite Paige?" asked Sasha. "I did, but Saraya said she was busy so I left it alone" said Alexa. "Cool beans" said Sasha. As the girls continued to laugh, Sasha noticed that Mandy whispered something into Enzo's ear which obviously made him uncomfortable and her worried. Mandy got up from the table to sit next to Alexa, causing her demeanor to instantly change.

"Hmm I wonder what's so funny over here?" Mandy asked. "Please someone let me in on the joke. I wanna know." "We're sure as hell not laughing about you" said Alexa. "However it's such a shame that we're not."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "Hey Mercedes nice match you had last week. I meant to tell you that." "Jeez Amanda it's so sad how you're always hanging around us main roster talent" said Alexa. "You must be that desperate for a call-up." Mandy leaned in closer to Alexa. "Say what you wanna say Alexa but remember that I'm the one who ended up with Eric" said Mandy. "And you get to personally witness that 24/7."

"Mandy, that's hella mean" said Sasha. "Ooh like I care?" Mandy scoffed as she flipped her hair. "You should leave" said Sasha defiantly. "And who's gonna make me?" Mandy hissed. Sasha stood up and faced her. "If you think that anyone here is afraid of you then you're playing yourself big time" she said. Mandy folded her arms. "I don't play with anyone" she said. "Yeah except yourself" Alexa laughed. As she and Sasha laughed, Enzo walked over.

"Come on Mandy, it's time to help get your perfect champion ready for his match tonight" he said. "You know how I like to take an extra 2 hours to make sure that I'm stuntin' and everything."

As the couple walked away, Bayley walked over to them. "Hey are you guys alright?" she asked. "That looked pretty intense." "Yeah it was just Mandy being Mandy" said Sasha. "You're hella ballsy to stand up to her like that though" said Alexa. "She's not one to mess with." "Girls, no one in this world scares me" said Sasha. "Including her."

* * *

A few hours passed and as Sasha was getting her hair done, Enzo approached her. "Hey Sandra, can I borrow her for a few minutes?" he asked. The hairdresser nodded yes. "We need to talk" he continued. "Talk about what?" asked Sasha. "About how you need to get your girl in check before I do or about-" "I'm serious Mercedes" said Enzo. "Let's take a walk before she sees us." The two walked until they found a private area to continue their conversation.

"Look Eric I was just defending myself and if you don't like it then too bad" said Sasha. "I'm not about to let anyone talk to me like that and I mean it." "Mercedes it's not about that" said Enzo. "But yeah, I guess it does sort of…include it…" "What do you mean?" Sasha asked. "Look. Just be careful when it comes to my girlfriend" said Enzo. "She can get pretty nasty sometimes, especially if she thinks someone is challenging her."

"Like I said Eric, you need to get her in check before I do" said Sasha. "And I saw you looking at me again" said Enzo. "I didn't mean it" Sasha lied. "You were just there." "Okay Mercedes I was just there only this time we were in a big ass room full of other places to park your eyes at and yet you still chose to land them on me said Enzo. "You sound upset" said Sasha. "Damn it Mercedes I'm not upset. I'm just-"

"Just what?" Sasha asked. "Concerned for your well being" said Enzo. "That's all." "I'm fine" said Sasha. "And what happened between us last week in that elevator didn't mean anything." "Are you sure?" Enzo asked. "I mean because I am handsome and wealthy like the song. Man I gotta hashtag that in my next Gram post. Seriously remind me to use that."

"How about no" Sasha said as she rolled her eyes. "And yeah, it didn't mean anything." "Are you positive?" Enzo asked. "Because if ya are…ya outta get those eyes of yours checked out shorty because they're sure as hell are lyin' to ya." "Yeah I'm sure" Sasha said sharply. "And I'm not your shorty either so don't call me that and lastly my eyes work just fine. Without or without the glasses."

Enzo chuckled. "I mean like it's like I said. The ladies love me. All of them do and the men they envy me 'cause they ain't me and can never be me-ya feel me?" "Shut up" Sasha said. "I'm gonna need you to tell whoever gave you that idea to lay off the gas because they're gassing you up just a bit too much."

"I never run on gas sweet face" Enzo said. "I'm a straight up G all on my own. No gas needed. Now of course every compliment is welcomed to the Zo man." "You don't run on gas you say?" Sasha laughed. "Hmm its no wonder because your brain always seems to to be running on E then." "I ain't on any drugs either" said Enzo. "You know Eric" said Sasha as she folded her arms. "Cockiness doesn't equal confidence. I'm quite surprised that no one's ever told you that before."

"A." said Enzo. "I'm a 1000% confident. My self-esteem is A1". "You use way too much slang" said Sasha. "Even more than me and if you're gonna use it, make sure that it's in the proper context." "B.-" "Quiet?" Sasha laughed. "Oh so you've got jokes do ya huh?" Enzo teased. "I wouldn't call telling the truth joking…" Sasha teased. "Like I said. B. I'm surprised that ya keep sayin' to me that what happened didn't mean anything to ya" Enzo said.

"Oh my God Eric how many times do I have to tell you that it didn't" Sasha said as she angrily unfolded her arms. "Ya seem a little frustrated there Sash" said Enzo. "Are ya sure there ain't-" "Eric I'm in the middle of getting ready for a show tonight" said Sasha. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be getting back to my post now. You're wasting my time." As she proceeded to walk away, Enzo gently grabbed her arm to stop her.

"What is it!?" she harshly whispered. "I mean because we did almost…we almost…" Enzo trailed off as Sasha placed her index finger over his lips. He looked down at her in amusement as he smirked. "I know, I know" she softly said. "It-it didn't mean anything. I don't know how else I can prove it to you." Enzo gently placed his hand over her finger to remove it. " _Damn she feels so soft_ " he thought. "We could…?"

"Could what?" Sasha asked harshly. "What?" Enzo said as he put his hands up in defense. "I was just gonna say was that maybe we should do it again." "No way" said Sasha. "There's no way I'm ever gonna do that shit again." "You wanna prove it to me don't ya?" Enzo said. "You know what to do. Kiss me."

"You're an ass" said Sasha. "A taken one at that." Enzo folded his arms. "No I'm not" he said. "And you know I'm not. Taken yes, but an ass no. I think that's already been established. What hasn't been is that if what happened between us didn't really matt-" he was suddenly cut off from a kiss from Sasha and as she did, the two suddenly felt the passionate electricity that brewed between them once before.

Enzo unfolded his arms and without much thought, draped them over Sasha as placed her hands on his chest. The way that their lips had connected was something quite unlike what either have ever experienced before with another person. Enzo grabbed a fistful of her long wavy purple hair and lifted it up over her neck to give him easier access to her face.

The two were too busy enjoying what was occurring between them to remember that even though they were in a secluded area, they were still backstage where anyone walking by could see them. Sasha turned her head as their kissing deepened. Enzo stepped closer to press himself into her and as soon as he did, she pulled away from him, leaving him in awe. The two looked at each other in silence all while millions of thoughts raced between the two. " _I can't believe I just did that. That we just did that_ " Sasha thought. " _Again at that. No matter what…I can't let it happen again. I gotta stop sending him mixed signals…no matter how good that felt. He's taken and I'm steadily losing my mind._ "

"Uh…" Enzo trailed off. "It didn't mean anything to me" said Sasha as she took Enzo's arms off of her. "Just because things happen between two people Eric, doesn't mean that there's something there." "Um…" Enzo trailed off in a daze. "Are we good now Eric?" Sasha asked.

"Alright then…um yeah… we're good" Enzo stuttered. "Of course we are Eric" said Sasha. "Why wouldn't we be?" "I was just asking" said Enzo. "Did you feel anything?" Sasha asked. But unfortunately for Enzo, he was much too stunned to give any answer even though he wanted to.

Sasha nodded as she walked away, leaving Enzo alone in his thoughts. He desperately wanted to express to her that he knew that there was just no way that she didn't possibly feel anything but he knew that as much as he wanted to that he couldn't challenge what she said and for good reason. Mandy.

" _Fuck._ " He thought. " _Women are so confusing…and I'm so screwed._ "

 **A/N: By the way, most chapters are named after some of my favorite songs (the ones I listened to while writing this story and since it's a long playlist, this will be quite a long story. Also, please keep providing feedback)**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4: Sky walker**

A few more days passed and it was now December 30th when Sasha and Bayley arrived at Alexa's house. "Hey come on in you two" she said. "I brought the unhealthiest snacks I could think of" said Bayley. "All comfort food." "That's great because Nia and I ordered pizza" said Alicia. "Hey Trin, I'm glad to see that you could make it" said Sasha. "Of course I did girl. You know I don't miss parties for anything…unless for Jon of course" Naomi laughed.

"Alexis I'm totally surprised that you didn't invite Taylor" said Sasha. "You know me Mercedes I'm always full of surprises" said Alexa as she winked at Nia. "Ok you two, would have conspired against me now?" Sasha asked.

"I don't know. Why do you check the bathroom?" Alexa laughed. Sasha shook her head as she smirked. She proceeded to go upstairs but sure enough, there was no one in the bathroom. "Alright Alexa, I admit that you've got me" she said. As she turned to make her way back downstairs, she was suddenly caught off guard by a familiar voice.

" **WHAT THE!?** -" "Hey now Mercedes, I didn't mean to disturb you" said Finn. "Jesus Fergal you scared the shit outta me" Sasha said as she continued to clutch her chest. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Alexis invited me" said Finn. "I thought that this was supposed to be a girl's night" Sasha said. "Not the message I received" said Finn. "She said that you were in need of a good time." Sasha blushed at this as he smirked. After all, she had developed a crush on him earlier that year but she never acted on it and for good reason.

"What do you mean a good time?" she asked. "Come on. I'll show you" said Finn as he stuck out his hand for her to take. For a brief moment, she hesitated. " _Should I or shouldn't I?_ " she thought. She took another glance at his hand. " _What harm could he possibly do?_ "

"You know I'm not going to bite" he said. After another few more seconds, Sasha finally took it. He led her back downstairs where she was lead to sit in a chair and while she did, music began playing. "What's going on here Alexis?" she asked. "Oh you'll find out" Alexa teased as she took a sip from her cup. "I'm serious Alexis" Sasha said. "What the hell's going on?" "Why don't you take a look?" Alexa said. Sasha froze as she saw Finn approaching her. "Um…" she trailed off.

"Just relax" Finn said as he began to strip off his shirt and as he did, Sasha instantly felt herself becoming uncomfortable. "Ok that's it. That's enough!" she said as she stood up. "Alexa, was this really your doing?" "I don't know" Alexa chuckled. "Ask him." "Very funny" Sasha irritably said as she stormed off.

"Mercedes! We were just trying to loosen you up and bit and have some fun!" Alexa called out. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea at all" said Alicia. "You know not everyone likes these sort of things." "Is she alright?" asked Nia. "I don't know but I hope she is" said Bayley. Alexa let out an uneasy sigh at her friend's comments. Perhaps she didn't have the best idea after all.

* * *

A few minutes later, Finn entered into Alexa's bedroom to find Sasha staring up at the ceiling. "I uh take it that wasn't what you had in mind" he said. "May I sit next to you?" "I don't care" said Sasha. "You know she's just trying to cheer you up" said Finn. "Just like you did with her last year. She sees how upset you been lately and she's just trying to return the favor."

"So she decides to help me by asking you to gyrate in front of a room that's filled with your coworkers?" Sasha asked. "I wouldn't call what I did gyrating" said Finn. "I was barely out of my shirt when you got up and ran." "Oh God" Sasha sighed. "Well…" Finn trailed off. "Like I said. She was just trying to make you smile."

"I'm not depressed Fergal" said Sasha. "I'm just…" she paused. "Distracted." "Sometimes it's good to be a little distracted" said Finn. Sasha sat up. "I don't wanna be this distracted anymore." "So then don't" Finn said as he leaned into kiss her. "W-what was that for?" Sasha asked. "Another distraction" said Finn. "Now, didn't it take your mind off of what you were thinking about?" Sasha nodded. "Wanna return back to the party?" Sasha nodded as Finn helped her off the bed to return back to the living room.

"Mercedes?" Alexa said as she called over Sasha. "Yeah?" she asked. "I'm sorry for all of that" said Alexa. "Perhaps I should have asked you first." "No, no it's okay I've just been really shaken up since being trapped in that elevator" said Sasha. Alexa rubbed Sasha's arms in a sympathetic matter.

"Who's ready to drink?" Finn asked. "Dude we have the whole next 72 hours to do that" said Alexa. "Maybe 48 hours but I'm sure as hell ain't counting." "I know I know" said Finn. "But it is going to be a New Year after all." "He's right" said Sasha. "It will be whole a New Year."

"I know I'm a bit early here but cheers to 2017!" said Finn as he held up a wineglass. "To 2017" Sasha said as she toasted. Suddenly, she began to notice Finn in a different light. It was almost as if some-if not all of her old feelings for him suddenly rekindled. Problem was, she was also still finding herself thinking about Enzo. Regardless, she decided that perhaps Finn would be a much appropriate option for her given the current circumstances.

* * *

Meanwhile, Enzo was waiting for Stephanie McMahon to arrive after he had once again managed to land himself in her office. He knew that it was due to his latest rant he had posted on one of his platforms about how much money he is worth. He took a glance at his watch to see the time. It was nearing 4PM when she finally arrived.

"Nice to see you again Mr. Arndt" she dryly said as she entered. "Please take a seat." "Mrs. L" said Enzo. "Please Eric, I don't have all day" Stephanie said. "This building will be closing in another hour and I still have many other people to meet with and things to do and whatnot."

Enzo took a seat and let out a sigh as Stephanie continued. "Remind me again Eric on why exactly do we have company regulations on all of our talent's social media?" "So you see now Mrs. L" said Enzo. "I can wholeheartedly explain." "Save it Eric" said Stephanie. "In fact I don't even want to hear the latest excuse that you've managed to come up with. If I were you, I would consider myself lucky."

"Huh?" Enzo asked. "Because my husband and father happen to love you and sees that you're still a valuable asset to the company…they've decided to reward you with a glorious offer" Stephanie said. "Come again?" Enzo asked.

"You have been given the gracious opportunity to have a sponsorship with the Air Jordan sneaker brand" Stephanie said. " **AHHH SWEET!** " Enzo said. "The contract is worth $250,000 and-"

" **250K!?** " Enzo excitedly asked. "It would be in your best interests not to interrupt me again" Stephanie. "Sorry Steph" said Enzo. "Like I was trying to say here Eric" said Stephanie. "The contract is worth $250,000 and we're allowing you to do this because we know how much you love the sneaker…going back to the topic of your social media posts."

"I'll try to tone it down just a notch" said Enzo. "But uh…no guarantees." Stephanie let out a frustrating sigh. " _He's so damn lucky that the men in my life love this kid to death otherwise I'd been had him axed_ " she thought. "You'll be filming a commercial" Stephanie said aloud. "Oh so the spotlight's completely on me huh?" Enzo beamed. Stephanie stared back at him in annoyance as she patiently waited for Enzo to relax.

"As I was saying Mr. Arndt…" she said. "You'll be filming a commercial and yes you'll be alone in it-that's if you want it that way." Enzo sat back with a quizzically look on his face. "Yes Eric you may speak now" Stephanie said as she struggled to refrain from rolling her eyes.

"Sorry Mrs. L I was just ya know…waitin' for my que" said Enzo. "Watch it Mr. Ardnt" said Stephanie. "Sorry" said Enzo. "So um yeah I can bring someone with me on set?" "Yes Eric" said Stephanie. "You may bring whoever you want. I just hope you're up for the challenge. Filming commercials aren't as easy as they'll appear and you'll only have one day to film something that usually takes a week to do."

"I can handle any challenge thrown my way. If I could get away with not studyin' in college and breaking that R&B singer's piano, I can do anything" Enzo emphasized.

"Excuse me? What piano?" Stephanie asked. "Long story" said Enzo. "I thank you and your family as well is the company for giving me another chance as well as this opportunity. I promise you that I won't waste it." "Please don't" said Stephanie. "And remember. Please watch what you say online please." "Will do Steph" said Enzo. "And another thing Mr. Arndt" Stephanie said. "Remember to tone it down. Arrogance isn't the quality for noble men to have. I'm serious. No need to land yourself on thin ice so early on in your career." "Will do" said Enzo.

"Come after before RAW to sign your contracts" said Stephanie. "And Eric?" "Yes Steph?" Enzo asked. "Congratulations on making your first million" said Stephanie. "Keep up the good work, many more will come afterwards and the more that will come, the higher the payout will be. Filming well commence on February 3rd, 2017." After Enzo thanked Stephanie, he proceeded to leave with another positive outlook towards his life. Unable to keep the excitement to himself for another minute, he decided to call up his best friend, Big Cass to fill him in this latest development.

"C-man" Enzo said as he stood outside of his rental car. "I have the greatest news in the whole wide world to share with ya." "Really now?" Cass chuckled. "Yo boy is now a mutherfuckin' certified millionaire" Enzo said. "Oh shit really!?" Cass cheered. "Congratulations! When did you find out?"

"Just now" said Enzo. "The Steph has given me a sponsorship that's worth $250,000." "That's amazing bro" Cass said. "What's it about?" "I'll be reppin' Jumpmans guy" said Enzo. "It's more than a dream come true. I can barely contain my excitement." "It looks like 2017 will be your year" said Cass. "Wanna meet up tomorrow before the party to discuss the email she sent to us on the first month's story lines?" "Fuck yeah man!" Enzo said. "I should be up there in 5 hours give or take. Thankfully Connecticut ain't too far away from Jersey."

"Yeah bro but that's just the thing" said Cass. "I'm all the way in Anaheim already for the New Year's Party." "Damn I almost forgot about that shit." Enzo said. "You don't have to go if you don't want to" said Cass. "I have to" said Enzo. "Mandy's making it a requirement." "Tsk tsk" Cass said as he shook his head in disbelief. "I dunno how you deal with that and I don't even wanna know how."

"The art of suppressing is a skill" said Enzo. "An unhealthy one at that" said Cass. "You're the last person on Earth who should be withholding anything." "I know I know" said Enzo. "But hey it's the only coping skill I know outside of the gym." "You should work on that" said Cass. "But I'll let you go considering you're gonna have to catch a flight out here."

"Well Mandy's good for some things" said Enzo. "She did book these tickets weeks ago." "Yeah but what else is she good for?" Cass asked. "And please for fucks sake you better keep your answers G-rated." Enzo chuckled. "She has her good qualities and her bad ones" he said.

"It's just a shame that lately her bad ones seem to permanently showing off" said Cass. Enzo let out a sigh. "I'll see you in Cali tomorrow at 4?" "Sure thing bro" said Cass. "Take care of yourself seriously and have a safe trip." "Will do" said Enzo. "And thanks." He ended the phone call and got into his car and as he drove off, a new idea formed in his head.

 **A/N: Thank you again for your reviews. Please let me know if you wish for this to continue**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5: Here**

The next evening, some of the staff and members of the roster were attending the annual New Year's party. "I really hate sometimes how they have us hopping back and forth from city to city" said Alexa. "I'm still hella tired from last night's party."

"Well I tried to tell you that hosting that party the night before wasn't such a good idea" said Sasha. "Next year, I'll listen to you" said Alexa. "I'll remember that you said that" said Sasha. "You know how I am when it comes to holding people their words." "Of course" said Alexa. "Besides I think that my body will thank you for the advice of giving it a little extra rest."

"Hello ladies" Finn said as he walked up to the two. "Are you enjoying yourselves tonight?" "Why yes Fergal, we are" said Sasha. "That's good to know" Finn said as he took a sip from his wineglass. "Hey Alexis, mind if I have a little chat with Mercedes here?"

"Sure don't" Alexa said. "You two have fun but remember not _too_ much fun." "Oh stop it" Sasha joked. "So Mercedes…" Finn continued. "There's this really cool nature trail that I've discovered out by my house in Orlando and I was sort of wondering if you'd like to join me on it sometime?"

"Absolutely" said Sasha. "I used to study ecology and conservationism when I was in high school and I've always wanted to visit the Everglades." Finn chuckled. "The Everglades is in Miami." "I know that" Sasha said. "Who doesn't know that?" "You'd be pretty surprised" said Finn. "So what time will be good for you?" "Um…I'd have to check my calendar" said Sasha. "But I'll let you know and everything so this isn't a rain check just to let you know."

"Good I'm glad that it's not" said Finn. "Care to join me on the dancefloor?" "I'd love to" said Sasha. "But only for a few minutes. I have a very important phone call to make soon." "Then I won't keep you long" Finn said as he stuck out his hand for her to take. Sasha hesitated for a brief moment before placing her hand in his.

* * *

Meanwhile, Enzo and Mandy were own their way over in a limo that they shared with Cass and Carmella. Mandy wore a silver sequin dress to match Enzo's white tuxedo. "You guys look like you're ready for your wedding" Cass laughed.

"Actually..." Mandy said as she forcefully snapped her compact mirror shut. "Eric hasn't popped the question yet." "Well what are you waiting for?" Cass chuckled. "You've been together for 9 months. You're the longest relationship he's ever had." Carmella slapped him at the back of his head for his comments.

"Nice one asshole" she said. "Maybe you should lay off." "Yeah maybe you should" Enzo said. "You really oughta." "Come on Eric" said Cass. "You're my childhood friend. I know it's not true. You're longest relationship ever was with-" Carmella slapped him again to quiet him. "Ex-nay on Eric's personal life, okay?" she said.

With this Mandy suddenly began to glare. "Car-Car I already know all of his deepest and most darkest of all secrets" said Mandy. "Isn't that right Eric?" Cass locked eyes with Enzo and suddenly gave him a quizzical look of pure and utter confusion. The entire limo become abruptly quiet at her words.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time that Mandy has shown her true colors to Enzo and his friends. In fact, she had been pretty much doing so since about 3 months into their relationship. Cass and Carmella as well as Enzo's other friend Mojo Rawley have taken note of it and had attempted to address it to Enzo but most of the times he dust it under the rug as if it never happened.

"Yes honey-money" Enzo said flatly. Carmella took a look at Mandy's heels. "You like?" Mandy asked as she flashed her red bottoms. "They're brand new. Eric brought them for me for Christmas and his birthday present." "Amanda, isn't your birthday in July?" asked Cass. "His birthday present?" asked Carmella.

"Yeah his birthday present" said Mandy. "Eric doesn't like to let me feel like I'm left out so he got them for me." The couple both turned to give Enzo yet another confused look. At this moment, Cass mouthed "we gotta talk bro" to him. Enzo calmly nodded.

The limo pulled up to their location and Enzo helped Mandy out. "I'll meet you inside" he said. "Why don't you make sure that you're extra ready for me?" Mandy smiled. "Remember the ball drops in 30 so meet me in 20, got it?" "Got it" said Mandy as she made her way inside. "Dude we gotta talk now" said Cass. "I'll give you two some privacy" Carmella said as she made her way inside.

"Dude, that chick has you wrapped around her finger tighter than a boa constrictor" said Cass. "Is everything alright with you?" "Yeah Mandy's just…well she's like me…only the female and over the top version of me" said Enzo. "And doesn't that shit scare ya bro?" Cass.

"Scared shitless? No. Terrified….I'm not quite sure" said Enzo. "But she's sexy as hell." "Sometimes it isn't always about the looks bro" said Cass. "I know dude but I'm into her" said Enzo. "No" said Cass. "You were. I can tell and from that I am **highly** concerned for you."

"The fuck you mean bro?" Enzo asked. "Eric we've known each other since we were 12 years-old. You don't think I know the difference between when you're in love with someone versus when you're not?" said Cass. "Sure you did like Mandy at first…but I can see it in your eyes it's now elsewhere."

Enzo looked down in defeat. "Its okay bro just tell me who it is" Cass continued as he placed his hands on Enzo's shoulders. "I can't" said Enzo. "You can't or you _won't_?" Cass asked. "Look I'm your best friend Eric and I've always kept all of your secrets…including the ones you've told her and the ones that came before her and the one that will come after her. Have you even told Dean yet?"

"Nah the Mojo bro doesn't know" said Enzo. "I'm the only one who knows…except God of course." As the two continued to stand outside, they were suddenly interrupted by Sasha and Alexa.

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here?" Sasha asked. "Shouldn't you be inside enjoying the party?" Enzo looked up at Sasha and saw the beautiful shiny strapless golden dress she was wearing, leaving him stunned. At the same time that this was happening, Cass' eyes widened as he realized who his best friend had perked up to.

"I don't know why you even bother to ask Eric" Alexa chimed in. "After all he's too stupid to even give you an honest straight answer. He doesn't have it in him to." "Now that's enough Alexis" said Cass. "Lay off of him." Alexa rolled her eyes. "You know what Mercedes, I'll just meet you back inside. I can't stand the fact of having to see him anymore than necessary."

"Sure I won't be long" said Sasha. "The ball's about to drop." She waited until Alexa was back inside before she made her way over towards the two. "What are you guys doing out here in the cold while there's a pretty dope ass party going on inside…you know in the warmth?"

Cass turned to Enzo and removed his hands. Silence remained amongst the group as the sound of Beyoncé's "7/11" played in the background. "You know what…it's probably none of my business" Sasha said. "I'll just go ahead and make a phone call and you two can keep on acting like weirdos."

"You're makin' a call to who?" Enzo asked softly. Cass once again gave him a confused look. "My mother Eric" said Sasha irritably. "After all, I like to Facetime her when the ball drops. I mean who else I'd be calling at this time?" "Oh" Enzo said. "Take a walk with me bro" Cass said as he led Enzo away from the limo and towards the entrance of the venue.

"Is it her?" Cass whispered harshly. Enzo nodded. "Holy shit dude" Cass smirked. "When this happened?" "Nothing like _that_ has happened yet" said Enzo. "My boy I'm surprised" said Cass. "Because usually be now you would have been hit at least twice by now." "It was only a kiss" said Enzo. "I _reallyyy_ good ass one." "You kissed her!?" Cass whispered harshly. "How are you more surprised that I kissed her than if I had fucked her?" Enzo said.

"Because" said Cass. "It means you really like her. You haven't felt that way since-" "I don't wanna talk about her" said Enzo. "Or the other one. I don't care how many years go by. The pain still hurts the same." "So man, I mean what are you going to do?" Cass asked. "I mean you're pretty deep in with Mandy-pun intended."

Enzo chuckled. "I don't know man" he said as he watched Sasha reenter the venue. "Looks like you're going to have a pretty interesting year ahead of you" said Cass. "Yeah I guess so" said Enzo. "Dude you're gonna have to go after her" said Cass. "Are you forgetting one major problem?" Enzo said. "She's best friends with my ex-er-another one that I've burned and as I'm sure that we're both pretty all aware of here is that she still hates my fucking guts and it's been over a year."

"Yeah…15 months hasn't healed any of those wounds" said Cass. "But love conquers all…99% of the time." "I feel like I'm in some sort of Shakespearian story" said Enzo. "I'm surprised you paid attention in history class" said Cass. "It was actually English and no I didn't. I was too busy talking to girls and having them do the work for me…but that's another story."

"Anyways, so how it happened?" asked Cass. "When we were in that elevator, we were arguing back in forth forever but I don't know" said Enzo. "Despite her trash talking, I just had this overwhelming instinct to protect her and so I did but when we were talking we both just sort of…kissed each other and it felt…amazing. Like the whole fuckin' world stopped or somethin'."

"Whoa that's pretty deep dude" said Cass. "You never talk about Mandy like this." "Guess not" said Enzo. Carmella opened the door. "You guys, the ball's dropping in 2 minutes. Let's go" she said. "Hey" said Cass. "This conversation isn't over and I'm gonna want the deets. All of 'em."

"Well we obviously can't discuss this at my place" said Enzo. "Come over in a few place to mine" said Cass. "This is important." The two went back inside to join their girlfriends as they watch the ball drop officially turning 2016 into 2017. Although he was relieved to have finally told someone his secret, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that this year was going to be a rather uneasy one…

 **A/N: Review if you wish for it to be continued and to let me know your thoughts.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6: Get right witcha**

5 more days had passed and it was now January 6th when Enzo arrived at Cass and Carmella's house in Orlando. "Hey come on in" said Carmella. "I'm surprised you're here but nonetheless welcome." "Thanks Leah" Enzo said as he dragged his luggage in.

"Dude you only have 3 shows to do this week, why does it look like you're packed for 30?" Cass asked. "Says the person who likes to chop wood in the middle of January" said Carmella. "Says the woman who forgets we live in Flo-ri-da" Cass chuckled. "Nice to have you over again Eric" said Carmella. "But I'm off to take my beauty nap or at least make an attempt at one." Enzo waited until Carmella was no longer within earshot to begin their conversation.

"Have ya uh…told her anything yet?" Enzo asked. "Have you told _her_ anything yet?" Cass responded. "No, no of course not" said Enzo. "Why _would_ why?" "Why would I?" Cass said. Enzo shrugged.

"Alright then there's your answer" said Cass. Enzo took a seat on the couch. "I'm only concerned about you bro" Cass continued. "So, tell me from start to finish what happened." "You really ain't gonna lay off of this one till I tell ya, huh?" Enzo said.

"Fuck no of course not" said Cass. "This is something way too big to just sweep under the rug." "Ok then" said Enzo. "Basically it all started when we were stuck in that shitty ass elevator and I dunno after all those hours together and her bitching at me on and off-constantly at that I guess…I guess it all started to change when she had that panic attack of hers."

"Wait she had a panic attack?" asked Cass. "She sure as fuck did" said Enzo as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. "By the way are youse outta Patron and Tequila?" "Don't change the subject bro" Cass chuckled. "But nah, we're not."

"Excellent" said Enzo. "Oh yeah so back to what I was sayin'. Back to the story. I had to calm her down from that and it took for what seemed like forever to do that but I'm glad I did. It actually spooked the hell outta me."

"I'm glad you did too man" said Cass. "Those things aren't usually something to joke around with." "Yeah well problem was" said Enzo. "I was joking with her about it." "You did?" Cass asked. "Yep" said Enzo as he took a sip. "At first I was thinking she was only fucking around with me so of course me being who I am, I was being quite the jackass about it."

"Damn that's cold" said Cass. "But I made up for it though by believing her in the end" Enzo emphasized. "And I did my best to help her calm down. Shit was getting real bad, real fast." "Then what happened?" asked Cass. "After she calmed down, we weren't talking for a while so I decided to you know, break the silence. I couldn't stand the silence it was killin' me" said Enzo. "Why?" asked Cass. "Because" said Enzo. "I had promised myself that from that moment on that I'd watch over her. I felt as though I dunno…it was sorta my responsibility or somethin'.

Enzo paused as he finished the rest of glass. "So yeah, back to the story. So we were pretty much arguing back and forth almost the entire time and I bitched at her because she was treating me like shit and I was just beyond fed up with the whole thing and she was unthankful because I fed her and shit."

" **WAIT**. You fed her!?" Cass asked. "Nah man I didn't spoon feed her or anything like that" said Enzo. "I let her have my protein bar-the last one and you know how I am about sharing." "Whoa" said Cass. "So I mean she's a female. She's hungry so I gave it to her. I let her have it you know?" Enzo continued. Cass smirked. "So you let her have it? I thought you said it didn't go that far?"

"Well that's just the thing bro" said Enzo. "It almost did….and I wanted it to." " **HOLY SHIT MAN!** " Cass smiled. "Are you serious?" "Dead serious man" said Enzo. "In the middle of it all-from what I remember, all of a sudden the fuckin' elevator started falling again and shit started falling down on us so I grabbed Mercedes and held her as she was screamin' for her life and boy man, I kid ya not Will I've never in my life heard someone scream like that and it nearly had me shitting myself."

"That sounds very intense Eric" said Cass. "Oh it gets even better" said Enzo. "Somehow I broke the silence and I finally got her to tell me why she hated me so much and…I just began to see her in a different light man. I really did and so…I kissed her and she kissed me back and the next thing I know we're on this dirty ass floor and she's on top of me and my guy downstairs is desperately knockin' away at the door and everything and I'm just like "God damn" because I didn't have any protection on me or anything but I promise ya Will it was going to happen."

"So why didn't it?" Cass chuckled. "Well that's when we finally got rescued and at the worst moment at that" said Enzo. Cass began to burst into laughter. "Man talk about some bad timing" he said. "I'll say" said Enzo. "Anyways we get freed and Paul's there explaining to us what had happened and how they'll have an investigation but yeah after I got checked out by the ambulance, she comes over and she tells me that it didn't mean anything to her."

"Bullshit" said Cass. "You guys almost had sex and it didn't mean anything to her?" "She said it was the "heat of the moment" type of shit" Enzo mocked. "I for one didn't buy it. What happened between us in that elevator was a bit more than just that if you know what I mean. But yeah I felt hella disappointed when she said that." Enzo took a quick glance over his shoulder before continuing.

"And there's more." "What more could've happened?" Cass asked. "She kissed me backstage last week" said Enzo. "And…it made me want her more. So much more." "Whoaaa Rick" said Cass. "Are you serious!?"

"William I am as serious as one fella could ever possibly get" said Enzo as he took another sip. "Man they seriously don't make 'em like they used to." "That's for sure" said Cass.

"But yeah we really got into it and I wanted to take it further" said Enzo. "The whole thing left me speechless…I was just so damn enamored by her or whatever it's called." "That's a first" said Cass. "And then she kept sayin' how "oh it didn't mean anything. It didn't mean nothin'" said Enzo. "But I could just tell by the way she kissed me…that it does."

"There's definitely a possibility that she could be feelin' ya" said Cass. "I can't say anything for sure but…" "But?" Enzo asked. "What I was gonna say was now if you like the girl, then you already know what to do" said Cass. "And what?" Enzo asked. "Be that guy that keeps on hopping from chick to chick?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa" said Cass. "You want something serious with her?" "Which her?" Enzo asked while rolling his eyes. "The new her" said Cass. "The better her, not the one that is makin' you misrable."

"Look man I don't know what I want I just know that I want her" said Enzo. "The new her." "Well then like I said, you know what to do" said Cass. "I don't know why you're making shit so hard for yourself. Just go after her. Leave Mandy and go for her."

"It ain't easy bro" said Enzo. "You've done it a million times before Rick" said Cass. "90% of those times, I was cheating" said Enzo. "So be the 10% and don't" said Cass. "And if you wanna sit around and complain about it then I don't wanna hear about it." "Alright dude fine" said Enzo. "I'll wait for the right moment to approach her about." "Good now that's the Eric I know" Cass smiled.

"What are you two scheming and plotting about now?" Carmella asked as she sat next to Cass. "Uh you know honey. Guy stuff" he answered. "I thought ya was gonna take a nap or somethin'?" Enzo asked. "Well I did say that it wasn't going to be a guarantee that I did" Carmella said. "Besides I figure why not spend time with one of my oldest friend?"

As Carmella leaned over to tie a shoe, Cass turned to face Enzo and mouthed "find out if she's single or not." He nodded to agree. "What movies you guys want to watch?" Carmella asked. "The popcorn should be ready in a few, it won't take me that long to fix it."

"Scarface" said Enzo. "Dude you watch that all the time when you come over here" said Carmella. "Aren't you ever tired of it?" "There is a reason why it's called my favorite movie" Enzo said as he used the remote to turn on the TV. "Followed by Mean Streets of course." Carmella shook her head in disagreement as she got up to the kitchen to tend to the popcorn.

"So Rick, when are you gonna get the ball rolling on this?" Cass asked. "Oh I dunno" said Enzo. "Maybe tomorrow, next week…why?" "Why?" Cass asked. "What do you mean "why"? You gotta start now."

"You act as if I have the girl's number in my phone-and I don't" said Enzo. "Why, do _you_ have it?" "No but Leah does" said Cass. "However I think that this is one you should get on your own." "That's not a good idea man" said Enzo. "The girl hates my guts." "Hates your guts!?" Cass whispered in disbelief. "Didn't you see how she was talking to you the other day? She didn't seem like someone who hated your guts."

"To each their own" said Enzo dryly. "Damn bro" said Cass. "You either must really like her not unless…" "No I'm not chicken. I'm not pussy. I'm just…careful" said Enzo. "Eric, when have you ever been careful?" Cass asked. "Name one time since I've met you. Go on." "Alright" Enzo said. "When I got that car for my 14th birthday and I promised my parents I wouldn't touch it till I got my permit? Will I was very careful to drive it around without them ever knowing it."

"And you got away with that?" Cass asked. "Sure did" said Enzo. "One of the best years of my life." Cass chuckled. "Okay bro. Just the next time when we're at RAW, get her number." "I never said getting it was going to be difficult" said Enzo. "Difficult no. A challenge, yeah and I'm always up to tackle any challenge." "So why so…?" Cass asked. "Because" said Enzo. "You were right. I do like her. I seriously do and I can't do anything to fuck this up."

* * *

3 more days passed and it was now January 9th when Enzo arrived backstage to prepare for another RAW episode.

"I'm still hella surprised that Mandy hasn't done one of her daily check-up-on you texts" Carmella said as she approached him. "She doesn't do it as much as she used to" said Enzo.

"Isn't that…abusive?" asked Carmella as she hopped up onto a steel container by him. "I mean it's none of my business but I've known you almost 7 years and she's by far the worst girl I've ever seen you with. I mean shit she's cute and everything but what about personality. What about character? Dignity? Respect?"

"It's just how she is" said Enzo. "She's you. Only like a million-zillion times worse" said Carmella. "It's alright Leah" said Enzo. "I promise you she's not that bad. She does have her good parts to her."

"Well of course she does" said Carmella. "We all do." "It's complicated" said Enzo. "But what relationship isn't?" "As long as you're happy with her and healthy than that's all that matters" said Carmella. "But unfortunately, I seem to believe otherwise and I'm not the only one who sees it that way."

"There's no need to worry about me" said Enzo. "I can assure you." Carmella nodded as she stood up and walked away, leaving Enzo to begin his journey throughout the backstage area.

"Hey Ricky boy" said Kofi. "I'm sorry about what happened to you the other week. I heard that shit was pretty bad." "Nah don't worry about it man" said Enzo. "I made it out alive." "Good luck on your match tonight" said Kofi. "Thanks man" said Enzo. "By the way, you happened to have seen Mercedes?" "Honestly man the girls should still be in either hair or makeup or something" said Kofi. "I did however seen her arrive like 10 minutes ago or so. "Thanks man" said Enzo.

He continued on with search to find Sasha. After about 2 hours of searching, he finally located her as she stepped out of wardrobe. Being the cunning fox that his was, he decided to stage himself as if he just happen to walk into her.

"Well, well well if it isn't Mercedes-Benz?" he teased. "Eric don't call me that" Sasha said. "It's really childish." "What I mean it is your name isn't it?" Enzo asked. "Your real name is Mercedes, right?"

"Why yes it is Eric" Sasha said. "However you're forgetting that no one in my entire life has called me that besides you should change your pick-up lines. They reek of 7th grade nostalgia. 8th grade at best."

"Well there's something I'd want to talk to you about" said Enzo. "Look Eric" said Sasha. "It's like I already told you. What happened in the elevator didn't mean anything." "That's seriously not it Mercedes" said Enzo. "Now here's what I was thinking…" he said as he rested his arm on her shoulders. "You're not thinking **anything** until you take your damn arm off of me" Sasha said as she quickly removed it. "Sometimes I think you have dog shit as a brain or something."

"Sash I-" "You what?" Sasha asked harshly. "I was thinking maybe you and I should I dunno...exchange numbers or something like that" said Enzo. "Really?" Sasha asked sarcastically. "And just why in the world would I wanna do that?" "Well it's like I already told you" said Enzo. "I'm the best thing walking around here." "You've sure is hell got that right" Sasha said as she looked at him in annoyance. "You are a thing."

"Look Sash I'm being serious here" said Enzo. "Work with me." "Sorry Eric but I don't wanna have another mixed tag team math with you" said Sasha. "In case you've forgotten, we've already lost that one-badly and I'm not taking any chances with you on that one. I have to look good when I'm out there in the ring."

"No Sash, I mean…we should you know exchange numbers to link up you know?" Enzo said slyly. "You know? In case something should ever happen to you again. You know so I can come rescue you or somethin'."

"Have you officially lost your damn mind?" Sasha asked. "First of all why would I need you to rescue me and lastly, wouldn't Mandy mind?" "Nah she wouldn't mind" said Enzo. "Besides I was remembering how things sometimes happen. I mean, hey you _never_ know."

"Trust me Eric I'm sure that I'll never need you saving me from anything, okay?" Sasha said. "But you know…?" Enzo trailed off in that same flirtatious tone. "It wouldn't be such a bad thing to do. It for would be for security measures. Peace of mind."

Sasha let out a long frustrated sigh as she began to furiously rummage through his jean pockets. "Whoa-whoa-whoa slow down there girl" Enzo said. "Do you realize you're skipping a bunch of steps?"

"Where's your phone?" Sasha asked as she took her hands out of his pants and folded her arms. "Try my hoodie pocket" Enzo said. Sasha let out another irritated sigh as she quickly reached into the pocket and snatched the iPhone out. "Now, now don't break it girl" said Enzo. "I still got another 8 months left on that contract."

"Here" she said irritably. "If it'll get you stop bothering me then by all means." Enzo watched as she quickly typed in her number. "Are you havin' like a bad day or somethin'?" Enzo asked. "No not at all" Sasha said. "I just don't like to be bothered when I'm trying to get into the zone for a match. Call it if you don't believe me." "I believe ya" Enzo said. "Now can I go now?" Sasha asked. "I'm up soon."

"You're a bit feisty, aren't ya?" Enzo asked. "As much as you're a dick" said Sasha. "At least I know how to use-" said Enzo. "Ok now you're being completely gross" Sasha said in disgust. "And I can't believe I walked right into that one."

"You said it not me" Enzo teased. "Remember that." "Really dude?" Sasha said. "Yeah really" Enzo said seriously. "Why are so nice to me one moment and mean the next?" "Because" said Sasha. "You have to be like that when you're dealing with people like you." With that she walked away, leaving him utterly confused. " _She has got to be the most confusing woman I've ever met in my entire life_ " he thought. " _But fuck yes I got her number! Another score for the E-Man._ "

* * *

As she continued on her way backstage, she walked past Finn who was talking to the company's doctor and officials. "Hey is everything alright?" Sasha asked. "I'm fine" said Finn. "It's just my shoulder. They think I might have fucked it up again."

"I hope not" said Sasha. "I just saw you in the performance center the other week. I thought that rehab was successful." "It was successful" said Finn. "But the older we get, the more time it takes for even the simplest of injuries to heal up."

"I'm so sorry Fergal" said Sasha. "Don't be" said Finn. "After all, it wasn't your accident. It wasn't even your doing." Sasha began to smile. "Hey you wanna grab coffee after this?" Finn asked. "I promise you that there won't be any elevators involved." Sasha laughed. "Wow so I guess everyone knows about that" she said. "Of course they do" said Finn. "It's talk of the town lately."

"I'll say" said Sasha. Just then, the doctor approached Finn. "We should talk more privately in my office about this" he told him. "Sure" said Finn. "Catch you later?"

"Absolutely" said Sasha. As Finn turned to begin following behind the doctor, Sasha called out to him. "Oh and Fergal?" she said. "Yes Mercedes?" Finn said. "I'd love to" said Sasha. "And uh…maybe we can finally settle on a day where we can go and visit that trail." "Good" said Finn. "I'll text you in a few." As Finn left, Sasha stood behind with a huge delightful smile.

 **A/N: Thank you again for all of your reviews.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7: Talk that talk**

Over the next week, Enzo decided to keep himself occupied on other things as he waited to text Sasha. By now Cass was beginning to wonder if any of his words got through to his longtime pal. The two were in the middle of beginning a workout session at Enzo and Mandy's house in Morristown, New Jersey as they conversed.

"I still don't understand how you could wait that long to start up a conversation" he said. "It's real simple" said Enzo. "No. I'm lyin'. It's ain't simple. You-well _I_ have to tailor my approach a little differently to each girl sometimes even though they all think the same."

"That's not true" said Cass. "I wanna know who told you all of that mumbled jumbled junk." "Come on I know what women want" said Enzo. "I mean I've seen up close and perfectly for myself and I know exactly what they're after and why they're after it."

Cass chuckled. "It's been 3 days dude. You should probably get around to saying something to her." "Will, patience is the key" Enzo said between chest presses. "You know as well as I do that with the ones who you really want something with, you gotta skate around the edges with a little more care."

"Dude with that thinking man you'll never get married" said Cass. "Married? Who said anything about us gettin' married?" said Enzo. "I like my life to follow specific steps in order to stay on a specific track." "Well as they said" said Cass. "You know when you meet the one, if you know what I mean?" Enzo turned to look at him.

"You mean…?" "Yup" Cass smiled. "Congratulations my man" said Enzo. "I hope she said yes." "She hasn't said anything yet" said Cass. "I'm not planning on popping the question to her until next month. You know, for Valentine's Day?"

"She will" said Enzo. "She loves you very much." "I can't wait" said Cass. "I picked out the ring months ago-it's her birthstone." Cass walked over to Enzo to show him a photo of it. "Nice man" he said. "She's really going to love that."

"So" said Cass. "Back to Mercedes." "Oh her?" Enzo laughed. "Yeah her" said Cass. "Not unless you've already changed your mind and decided to keep seeing Mandy." "It's not that easy bro" said Enzo. "I know it ain't" said Cass. "What about life is?"

"I almost don't know what to say to her" said Enzo. "Eric, just use your charm" said Cass. "You're already confident. Just use it and be yourself and oh yeah-tone it down a bit."

"Tone it down a bit?" Enzo. "Yeah" said Cass. "You have the tendency to come on too strongly. Some girls don't like that. Some do. And since you don't know what she likes and how she likes it…you're going to have to adjust. You've practically said it yourself to a certain degree." Enzo began to stroke his beard. "I think I know what to say to her now."

"And remember" Cass said as he pointed at him. "Tone it down just a bit." "How much is a bit?" Enzo asked. "Come on man" said Cass. "Feel her out." He tossed a towel on his shoulders as he sat down to rest. "You know if Amanda were to find out about this" said Enzo. "She'd kill me."

"Probably" said Cass. "But some things are worth taking a risk." "Would you have done this with Leah?" asked Enzo. "Of course not" said Cass. "And you wanna know why?" "Enlighten me" said Enzo. "Alright" said Cass. "For one starters, I'm actually happy with the woman I'm with so therefore, there's no need for me to look beyond her." "Throw me my phone" Enzo said. Cass reached over to retrieve the iPhone from off of the window seal and tossed it to him.

"What you gonna say to her?" he asked. "You'll see" said Enzo. "Something creative." "Don't get too creative" said Cass. "I know how you let yourself get a little overboard." As Enzo texted, Cass couldn't help but chuckle at his best friend's facial expressions. After all, he hasn't seen him that happy to text someone in a while. "Wanna see?" Enzo asked. "No need to" said Cass. "It's between you two and you two only." "There's just something about her man" Enzo said. "I've known her for almost 5 years and I never thought about her in this way before."

"That's because you were preoccupied with a lotta of stuff back then" said Cass. "Yeah" Enzo said. "Training and women." "Other stuff too bro" said Cass. "Yeah" Enzo said. "How could I ever forget that?" "It'll be alright Rick" said Cass. "No matter what happens. If it works out it works out. If not, then it'll still be alright." "Thanks man" Enzo said.

"But since we're on the topic of what you said to her. What'd you say to her?" Cass asked. "I asked her how was she doing" Enzo said. "No" said Cass. "No you didn't." "You told me to down it down so I did" said Enzo. "And what she say?" asked Cass. "And has she applied yet?" "She immediately did" said Enzo. "And she said she's going to a carnival with some of our coworkers in a few weeks."

"Really?" Cass said. "Where?" "I dunno yet" said Enzo. "She hadn't told me yet." "Well see now" said Cass. "At least she answered. It's a start." "Yeah and-" suddenly, Enzo was interrupted by his phone vibrating. "Is she calling you?" asked Cass. "No" said Enzo. "She just texted me her answer."

"Well don't keep me in suspense. What did she say?" Cass asked. "It's going to be in Houston" said Enzo. "On January 25th-the day after Smackdown and it'll be at 7PM." "See" said Cass. "So far so good." "Yeah she even texted me the address and everything" said Enzo.

"Look like someone's got themselves a date" Cass said. "Hopefully" said Enzo. "I don't like to get too carried away too soon." Cass busted out in laughter. " **YOU? TOO CARRIED AWAY!? NAH MAN THAT'S FUCKING HILARIOUS**." "You know what I mean Will" said Enzo. As Cass continued to laugh, Mandy suddenly made her way down into the basement.

"What's got him all amused?" she asked. "Nothing" Enzo lied. As Mandy made her way over to him, he quickly turned off his phone. "Hi baby" she said as she kissed him. "You missed me?" "Yeah" Enzo said. "Of course I did." "I thought you were supposed to be in a show in Georgia or something?" Cass said.

"Well I did" said Mandy. "And I obviously came home. NXT is slightly different than the main roster, in case you haven't noticed." Cass did his best to not allow his displeasure show at her sarcasm. "So Eric my love" she continued. "Now that I'm back home…are you ready to get the little surprise I've told you about?" Enzo nodded as Mandy turned to face Cass.

"You can go now" she said. "Zo-zo won't be needing you for a while." Cass gave Enzo an "good luck because you're going to need it look" before standing up. "Guess that's my cue to go man" he said as he walked over to exchange handshakes and pats to each other's back. "See yall later" said Cass. As Cass left, Mandy turned her attention to Enzo.

"Man why does he act like he lives here?" she asked. "The guy lives up the block from me and yet he's always here." "He's my best friend" said Enzo. "Why else would he always be here?" "I don't know and I don't care" said Mandy. "It's really starting to annoy me and lately we haven't been having too much alone time and it's starting to get to me."

"Amanda…" Enzo said. "Don't "Amanda" me" said Mandy. "He's such a nuisance." Enzo felt himself becoming increasingly offended at his girlfriend's words. "Luckily for us…" Mandy continued. "I've already taken the liberty of doing some house hunting." "Wait a minute" said Enzo. "What do you mean you did house hunting?"

"I started since last month" said Mandy. "It was about time I did." "Whoa, whoa, whoa" Enzo said as he lifted her from off of him. "W-what is it baby?" Mandy asked. "So what you're telling me is that you went looking for another home…without me?" Enzo asked. "If so, I'm done talking to you for the rest of the day."

Mandy folded her arms. "You're being a little ridiculous." " **I'M RIDUCLOUS!?** " Enzo said. "This is my home and it's been my home for the past 2 years." "You ought to calm your nuts" said Mandy. "I said I went house hunting. Did I say I sold the place?" "Listen here doll face" said Enzo. "I ain't going nowhere-got it?" Mandy glared back at her boyfriend as his stern words enraged.

"I don't like your tone" she said. "Well what I don't like is that my girl is out here trying to make moves behind my back by going out searching for another house to live without my knowledge" said Enzo. "I'm tired of him and his girl coming down here everyday" said Mandy. "They act like they're homeless or something. My house isn't a damn shelter."

"You're unbelievable you know that?" Enzo said. "Why of course I am zo-zo" said Mandy as she playfully wrapped her arms around him. "And I'm going to need you always remember that I know all of your greatest sins and should you ever forget…" she removed her arms and took a step back. "Are you threatenin' me?" Enzo asked. "I wouldn't call it a threat" said Mandy. "I would call it…a friendly warning."

"For what?" Enzo sternly asked. "Oh…" Mandy teased. "You know." The color on Enzo's face became red as his anger intensified. "Get the fuck outta here **RIGHT** **NOW!** " he yelled.

Mandy smiled at this. After all, she had once again managed to get under his skin. "You get upset way too easy" she said. "You should learn how to control that." Enzo picked up a 60lb dumbbell. "Go ahead and throw it at me" Mandy taunted. "Because I'm sure the world would just love to know that you've decided to add domestic violence to your list of incredibly evil things you've done in your life."

"You act like you're so pure" Enzo said as he gritted his teeth. "Like you're so perfect. Like you haven't done anything before either." "Well Zo-zo I haven't" said Mandy. "At least not anything near what you've done." Enzo dropped the dumbbell down at his side. "Get the fuck outta here Amanda" he said.

"Hmm…why would I?" Mandy asked. "I pay half of the mortgage so therefore, I'm able to move around freely as I so chose." " **LEAVE!** " Enzo yelled. " **I MEAN IT AMANDA.** "

"You know…" Mandy said. "It's an incredible shame that you're a wolf in sheep's clothing but a sexy guy at the same time." She turned to exit the basement, leaving Enzo to let out a softened wail as he covered his face with his hands. Perhaps his friends actually had a valid point after all. More importantly, perhaps he should begin to start to take Mandy's ways seriously.

Truth was, Mandy had a point. He wasn't always the best or nicest person in his life and as a result, he was now forced to be hiding a dark secret that only he and those closest to him knew about. Question was…would the secret be able to stay one for much longer?

 **A/N: Thank you again for all of your reviews they're much appreciated. Also…I wonder what Mandy has on Enzo anyway? Find out soon….**

 **~Emerald loves sapphire~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Nobody else but you**

Over the next week, Enzo did his best to get through his incident with Mandy. It was now January 19th, 2017 when Enzo stood in his living room finishing up his packing when his doorbell rang. It was Cass. "Hey Will what's up?" Enzo said flatly. "I'm good man but what's up with you?" Cass asked. "I haven't heard from you all week. Is everything alright?"

"Not exactly" said Enzo. "Mandy again?" Cass asked. Enzo nodded to confirm. "I dunno man" Cass said. "I dunno why you don't just leave her already? She ain't right for you…in fact she ain't right for nobody." "You know it ain't easy" said Enzo as he zipped up his luggage. "And you know how I like to have my cake and eat it too, you know what I mean?"

Cass shook his head in disbelief. "You're insane dude" he said. "You're the only guy I've ever known to stay with a chick that wasn't good for him. All you're doing at this point is just using her as arm candy."

"She has her upsides don't get me wrong" said Enzo. "And just because she's good in bed you're willing to continue to put up with that?" Cass said. "Good? Ha" said Enzo. "The broad's _amazinggg_ " but I've had also had better."

"So why stay with her?" asked Cass. "Ain't nothing wrong with being single, lots of people our age are." "It's not about that" said Enzo. "So then what it is about?" asked Cass. "Because please do remind me because I must be missing something here." "Look" said Enzo. "I like to have options. A lot of 'em. Backup plans if you will." "No that ain't what it's about" said Cass. "You're afraid of rejection because you can't handle it."

"Pff" said Enzo. "That's total bullshit." "Man I've known you the 7th grade. I've seen you in action. You can't handle it. You never been able to" said Cass. "And Dean can vouch for me." "We don't gotta bring our man Mojo into this" said Enzo. "That ain't necessary."

"You just don't wanna be outnumbered" Cass chuckled. "Because you'll know you lose then." "Is that a bet you're initiating or somethin' because I am definitely up for that one" said Enzo. "The three Jersey musketeers betting against each other over your emotional attachment issues-yeah okay" said Cass. "Yeah that sounds like a totally fair and fun idea to do."

"Life ain't fair C" said Enzo. "Ya snooze, ya lose." "Yeah but I'm your best friend and so is Mojo" said Cass. "And because I've known you longer than him by at least a good decade or so, I know when even you're getting in over your head and I'll always be here to remind you when it such thing occurs." "Thanks" Enzo. "It's appreciated."

"Now going back to Mandy, aka…the more serious topic at hand" said Cass. "I hope that she'll be outta your life soon because I'm telling you bro, she's the worst one you've ever been with and even if it doesn't work out between you and Mercedes..."

"What are you talking about?" Enzo nervously chuckled. "It will. It'll work out. It always works out for me." "If it doesn't, I just wanted to remind you that you're still pretty young. I mean you just turned 30 a month ago…there's plenty of time to find someone to be with or to just meet someone-anyone but Mandy" said Cass. "Speaking of her, where is she?"

"Off doing some tour for NXT" said Enzo. "And good riddance because lately she's been proving to be a real thorn in my side." "What could she have possibly done now?" Cass asked as he folded his arms. "I'm sure she's done everything on the list by now." "Ya can cross off blackmailin'" said Enzo. "Wait, what!?" Cass asked. "You aren't serious aren't ya?"

"Dead serious" said Enzo as he placed his Gucci snapback on. "She's been upping the ante lately and its beginning to become…concerning." "The moment it shoulda became serious to ya was when she threw that knife at ya" said Cass. "What am I supposed to do?" Enzo said. "Dump a girl 8 months into a relationship?" " **UM YEAHHHH** " Cass said. "If Leah would've pulled that shit on me I would have beeeeenn called it quits."

"Easy for ya to say kid" said Enzo. "You're the only guy I know who would rather chose to always gotta have arm candy on their arms than to be safe and single" said Cass. "At this rate you might as well finish off your "life" tattoo" considering the amount of risk you've been putting it through lately." Enzo looked off to the side as his best friend continued to talk to him.

"If anything" Cass continued. "Please, just figure out a plan of ending things with Amanda for good please. Dean, Leah and I have never and I mean never seen you this stressed in a relationship. Now that doesn't include how you feel after some of them are over with."

"It's just that…" Enzo said before pausing. "You know how easily I used to break faces as much as I broke hearts. I'm tryin' to be different man it's just so…" "Un-you?" "Cass chimed in. "Yeah" said Enzo as he slugged his duffle bag across his shoulders. "Ya ready?"

"I love you man" said Cass. "You're like a brother to me and I wanna let you know that in life, that it's sometimes alright to let others down but just remember not to let yourself down in the process." He placed a hand on Enzo's shoulder. "There's just so much more to life Eric that you haven't even experienced yet and probably won't be able to until you free yourself from her." Enzo nodded. Cass was right. If he didn't figure out a way how to end things with Mandy, it was going to ruin him one way or another….the problem was, it was a much easier said than done.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasha was at home in Boston when she received a knock at the door. When she answered it, she found that it was none other than Finn, which wasn't a surprise since the two were spending so much time together lately.

"Hey there Mercedes" he said. "How's it going?" "Well" said Sasha. "Very well. Why don't you come in?" "Will do" said Finn as he walked in. "You uh…you've been getting my texts right?" "Of course I have" Sasha said with a smile as she locked the door behind him. "I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed our little night out the other other…well night" said Finn.

"I did too" Sasha said. "And I just wanted to let you know that your very good friend Alexa and I have something extra special planned out for your birthday next week" said Finn. "Oh you guys do?" Sasha asked. "Yeah" said Finn. "Only for the best woman in the world" said Finn. As Sasha blushed the two made their way into the kitchen.

"Would you like something?" she asked. "No I'm good" said Finn. "I'm just excited for the carnival adventure next week." "Me too" Sasha said as she poured a glass of water for the two of them. "I like to have my birthday weekends off whenever I can and since joining the business, it's been a bit difficult for me to do." "I know the feeling" said Finn. "But seriously Fergal" Sasha said as she handed Finn the glass.

"Thanks M" said he said. "No problem" said Sasha. "But yeah Fergal. I did like the restaurant. It really meant a lot to me. I enjoy just about anything that's seafood related."

"You're welcome darling" Finn said as kissed Sasha. "Anything for you." Despite the fact that she knew that his kisses didn't feel the same as the ones with Enzo, Sasha had decided to put anything she ever felt or could ever possibly feel about Enzo behind her as she figured it would be for the best if she did, even though it was slowly beginning to eat at her.

 **A/N: Review if you wish to.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9: Win some, lose some**

A few more weeks passed and it was now January 25th, when Enzo was making his way to the location of the Carnival. He had spent nearly 2 days driving from Cleveland to Houston. He promised to himself that he'd never make another drive like that again unless he was with others to keep company.

As he pulled up into the parking lot, he was surprised to find that Cass and Carmella were already there. "A yo C!" Enzo shouted as he quickly parked his rental car. "Whatcha doin' here?" "Mercedes invited us-well me" said Carmella. "Weeks ago and I decided to bring Will along. What are you doing here?"

Enzo turned off the engine and exited the car. "Uh I'm goin' explorin' like uh…Dora." He pressed the button to the keys to make sure that the car was locked. Carmella laughed. "Come on Eric now that was the worst lie you've ever made up. No seriously what are you doing here? You know Alexis and them are here and she hates your guts."

"He isn't here to see her" said Cass. "Well then who's he here to see?" Carmella asked. "Alright" said Enzo. "I'll tell ya the truth. I'm here to see Mercedes." "Why would you wanna see her?" Carmella asked. "She invited me" said Enzo. "She invited you?" Carmella said as her eyes widened in surprise and it was at that moment did she noticed that Enzo was holding a bouquet of red and pink roses.

"Oh my **GOD**!" she squealed. "You like her?" "Yeah somethin' like that" Enzo sheepishly said as he rubbed the back of his head. "But what about Mandy?" asked Carmella. "He'll deal with her later" said Cass. "I'm just surprised" said Carmella. "When did this happen?" "The elevator" Enzo and Cass said at the same time.

"Oh my Gosh that's so sweet. Man have I missed a lot" said Carmella. "Yeah you certainly did" said Enzo. "So what's your plan?" asked Carmella. "I don't needa plan" said Enzo. "My charm is always foolproof." "Yeah but Mercedes is a different girl" said Carmella. "And not all women are the same." "Eh…" Enzo trailed off. "I'm serious Eric" said Carmella. "If you want her, you're gonna have to tone it down…a lot." "Been said that" said Cass.

"You guys? Have my charismatic ways ever failed me?" Enzo asked. "Actually…yeah" said Carmella. "But not in the beginning" Enzo said. "Yeah but the point of what I'm trying to tell you is that don't you want something more…permanent?" asked Carmella. "Oh Leah you know he does" said Cass. "He's just not gonna admit it because you know…he's got commitment issues."

"Hey I'm workin' through 'em!" Enzo said. "Anyways I happen to think that you two would look cute together" said Carmella. "You two would definitely balance each other out. I ship it." "Ship what?" asked Enzo. "Never mind" Carmella chuckled. "Let's go on in. I'm ready to try to see what kind of cool stuff I could win." As the two made their way up to the ticket counter, Alexa noticed that Enzo was there.

"Who invited you?" she asked. But before Enzo could answer, Carmella stepped in. "I did" she said. "I wanted them both to come along with me for the fun." "Mercedes didn't spent the last year saving up to rent this whole place out just to have an idiot show up and ruin it" said Alexa. "Lay off me Alexis" Enzo said. "You don't own the carnival."

"Speaking of who technically owns the place tonight…" said Cass. "Have you happened to know where she's at?" "Mercedes could be anywhere" said Alexa. "I'm just glad your idiotic friend here isn't invited to her birthday party tomorrow." "Birthday party?" Enzo asked. "There's a birthday party for Mercedes tomorrow?" "Well it is her 25th birthday stupid" said Alexa as she walked away. "By the way Eric, nice letterman jacket. Too bad it looks dusty as hell…but it suits you."

Enzo remained quiet as he rolled his eyes. "What's the matter Eric?" Carmella asked. "Didn't you know it was her birthday tomorrow?" "Yeah well of course I do" said Enzo. "It's just that…I didn't know she was gonna have a party." "So then I suggest you find her then and ask her for an invite" said Carmella. "Yeah man" said Cass. "It shouldn't be too hard. This place isn't that big." "Meet up later?" Enzo asked. "Of course" said Cass. "Go get her tiger!" Carmella teased.

Enzo walked off and began his search for Sasha all while maintaining a sense of nervousness but excitement at the same time. After about 15 minutes, he finally found Sasha but what he saw left him with a feeling of dread. She was talking to Finn and based off of what he saw, he knew that there was something going on between the two.

"Forget it" he said solemnly. "What a waste of time." He threw the flowers down onto the ground and he walked away as fast as he could in search of his friends.

"Hmm this tastes so good" Carmella said. "I haven't had cotton candy in ages." "Well a sweet woman like you deserves something sweet to have" Cass said as he continued to feed her the pink candy. "Hey-em-Eric" Carmella said with a mouthful. "How'd it go?"

"Shitty as fuck" Enzo grumbled. "My guy you look hella down. What happened?" Cass asked. "She's fucking taken man" Enzo said as he sat down beside them. "What do you mean she's taken?" Carmella asked. "Since when!?" "Since now" said Enzo. "She's busy with Fergal." "No flippin' way" said Carmella. "Surely you're mistaken." "Leah, my eyes ain't neva lied to me" said Enzo. "And by the looks of it, those too are more than just close."

Cass shook his head. "I'm sorry man I really am." "So am I" said Enzo. "Now you know you're not the type to give up Eric" said Carmella. "You have way too many exes/flings to attest for that." "Yeah" said Cass. "Claudia, Jasmine, Tatianna, Keisha, Chloe-"

"Ok, ok I get your point" Enzo interrupted. "No need for me to be reminded of my horrid past." "If you want her then go get her" said Carmella. "There's still a chance. I have a feeling if what you say is true, then it has to be in the beginning stages." "Really how do ya know?" Enzo asked. "Because Mercedes isn't the type of girl who would just dive into something" said Carmella. "She likes to take her time getting to know them. She'll date them for months before she allows it to become official-key word: allow."

"You like this girl way too much to give up on her" said Cass. "I'm just worried that you're just using this as a way to get away from Mandy instead of dealing with her the right way" said Carmella. "That's all." "Well I'm not using her" said Enzo. "I'm done with livin' like that."

"If you like her than you're gonna have to end things with Mandy the proper way before you get with Mercedes" said Carmella. "That way you don't start this relationship or any at that with baggage. This way you can ensure yourself that you won't be putting yourself in the pain that you've done to yourself so many times before." Enzo nodded at his words as he stroked his beard. "This will be quite the challenge."

"Thank God you're the type to love them" said Cass. "Just go find her" said Carmella. "Go talk to her." "Have you seen her best friend?" Enzo asked. "Oh about 5 feet tall? Blonde and she really hates me?" "You've never let anything stopped you before man" said Cass. "Not even when you got chased out of that girl's house half naked by her father." Cass started laughing.

"Wait huh?" Carmella. "I'll tell you the story" said Cass. "So I bet this kid right over here $300 that he couldn't fuck our classmate with her parents downstairs and one not to ever turn down these things, Eric sneaks into the broad's house in the middle of a fucking blizzard to do her but of course, her father finds out and he chased Eric outta the house with a shotgun and he's wearin' nothin' and I mean **NOTHIN** ' but boxers."

"True story" Enzo said. "That's one of the reasons why they call me New Jersey's finest." "How old were you guys again?" Carmella asked. "17" said Cass. "We was just 4 months away from graduating high school."

"It was the funniest shit I've ever did at that age" Enzo laughed. "Well…one of 'em." "Ok, enough reminiscing you two" Carmella chuckled. "Eric's gotta go find his next girl." Enzo reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his iPhone to begin texting Sasha to meet him by the Ferris wheel and luckily for him, she agreed to.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasha was standing by the gates engaging in a conversation with Finn. "So you sure want extra sauce on your chili fries?" he asked. "Yes dear" said Sasha. "And please take your time. We'll be here all night…well actually at least for another hour. I wanna ring in my 25th birthday at the hotel and stuff."

Finn smiled as he walked away and as he did, Enzo decided waited for the right moment to approach her. For a moment he thought about his friends advice to tone it down, but he decided that he much rather to continue to live by his no risk, no reward motto. After all, he saw no need to alter his ways since it always paid off for him, one or another.

"Yo Mercedes Benz how ya doin'?" Sasha looked up from her iPhone and chuckled. "What are you white chocolate or something?" she teased. "Nah this is me" said Enzo. "100% of the time." "How cute" Sasha said. "Oh so you think I'm cute?" Enzo said. "You're putting words in my mouth now?" Sasha teased. "I mean if that's what you want" Enzo said.

"What is that you wanted to talk to me about?" Sasha asked. "Let's take a walk" said Enzo. "I won't take long." The two walked over to another set of picnic tables and took a seat across from each other. "So seriously what's up?" Sasha asked. "Nothin'" said Enzo. "I just really wanted to talk to the birthday girl that's all."

"How sweet of you" said Sasha. "But my birthday technically isn't for another 3 hours." "I know but I just thought I'd get a head start" said Enzo. Sasha smiled as she put her phone down. The two quickly found the other quietly gazing into each other's eyes. " _Goddamn she's so beautiful_ " Enzo thought. " _Hmm why does he keep staring at me like this?_ " Sasha thought. " _It's kind of making me nervous…and uncomfortable…I mean shit…I don't know._ " As Enzo continued his gaze, he noticed that Sasha was beginning to shiver.

"You're cold" he said. "No I'm fine" said Sasha. "Believe me I am." "No you're not" Enzo said as he stood up. "Here." He removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "Thank you" Sasha said. "You didn't have to do that." "I wanted to" said Enzo as he took a seat next to her. "I don't like seeing you freeze." "It's really sweet of you" Sasha. "Really it was."

"Hey uh Sash can I ask ya somethin'?" Enzo asked. Sasha nodded. "So uh what's the deal between you and Devitt?" Enzo asked. "What do you mean?" Sasha asked. Enzo shrugged. "Well I think he's a great guy" said Sasha. "It's not official yet." "What do you mean?" Enzo asked. Sasha laughed. "It's not official yet Mr. Journalist. I'm just having a good time because well I'm young and I can do so….why?"

"I'm just askin' for a friend" Enzo lied. "Ya know?" "No I don't" said Sasha. "But you can tell your friend that I'm not interested because I already have my mind set on someone else." Enzo instantly became disappointed at her words but he remembered that since she wasn't officially dating Finn, that there was still the possibility of having a chance with Sasha and he was willing to take any chance he had.

"I like this jacket of yours" she said. "It is nice and warm. Where'd you get this from again?" "It was my football jacket" said Enzo. "From college." "Oh yeah" said Sasha. "I forgot that you used to be a player." "Well I hate to break it to ya baby but uh…I'm still one" Enzo said. "What did I tell you about calling me baby?" Sasha said as she playfully shoved his arm.

"Sorry I can't help it" said Enzo. "You can't help it or you _choose_ not to help it?" Sasha asked. "Which one is it?" "Eh I'm not really sure" said Enzo. "It could be either or it could be both." He playfully tapped her nose causing her to giggle.

"Ok Eric why are you being extra nice to me?" she asked. "You definitely want something from me." "Ohhh you got that right" Enzo said enthusiastically. "I wanna know somethin'."

"What exactly is it that you want from me then?" Sasha asked. "So I am gonna be invited to the party or what?" Enzo asked. Sasha's smile immediately dwindled. "No Eric" she said. "What do you mean no?" Enzo asked.

Sasha let out a brief sigh. "Alexis will be there and I sort of don't want any drama on my birthday" she said. "It's nothing personal to you Eric, it's just that my birthday is usually the one day I have off if I'm not taping a show or doing an event." She placed her hand on his wrist. "I'm sorry Eric." "No" Enzo said disappointingly. "Don't be."

Finn spotted the two over at the bench and approached them "Sorry I took so long Mercedes" he said. "The staff members really ought to be reported. They took their time and it's just unprofessional when there's still people here giving them business." "No it's alright" said Sasha. "Eric man what's up?" Finn asked. "Will we be seeing him tomorrow in Corpus Christi for the big shebang?" But just as Enzo was getting ready to answer, Sasha chimed in.

"Actually no Fergal. He'll be busy." "That's a bummer man because I heard it was going to be a blast" Finn said as he put his arm around Sasha. "Not that I'm allowed to give away any details."

"Yeah it's quite too bad I can't make it at all" Enzo said flatly. Sasha removed Enzo's jacket. "Here you go" she said. "No you keep it" Enzo said. "You need it more than me." "Ar-are you sure?" Sasha asked. "Positive" Enzo said. As Sasha stood up, she placed the Letterman onto the blue wooden table before him. "I didn't earn it" she said softly. "You did."

With that, Enzo watched as Sasha and Finn walked away and it was in that moment he became determined more than ever to figure out a way to get into the party.

" _But how?_ " he thought. " _There's gotta be a way. There just has to be._ "

 **A/N: Thanks for the reviews and let me know what you think…**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Birthday cake**

The next morning, Enzo was sitting at the island in his hotel room kitchen enjoying a bowl of cereal when he received a knock at the door. It was Carmella.

"Good morning Eric" Carmella said as she entered. "Good morning Leah" Enzo said as he yawned. "You're up early. Where's Will?" "He's out parking the car" said Carmella. "What happened to you last night? You never came back to tell us." "Sorry" said Enzo. "I guess I was a little…preoccupied." "Well how did it go?" Carmella asked. "Not so well" said Enzo as he took a spoonful of cereal. "She basically told me that she might be seeing Devitt but she said it ain't official yet."

"Well see I told you" said Carmella. "She doesn't like to jump into things." "Yeah that may be true but I didn't even get an invite to her party. In fact I'm not even allowed to go" said Enzo. "Are you serious?" Carmella said. "How come?" "One word" Enzo said. "Alexis." "Christ Eric" said Carmella. "That's completely fucked up." "Ehh maybe not" said Enzo. "All hope is not lost yet."

"What do you mean?" Carmella asked. "I've come up with a plan. Well a few" said Enzo. "How many?" Carmella asked. "At least a good 7 or 8" said Enzo. "I stood up all night comin' up with 'em." "You're quite resourceful aren't you?" Carmella chuckled. "Hey you know me" Enzo said as he shrugged. "I'm always down for a challenge. No risk, no reward."

"How are you gonna get there?" Carmella asked. "I'm drivin' there" said Enzo. "Oh really then what's the address?" Carmella asked as she folded her arms. "That I ain't got" Enzo asked. "It's 1200 Harvey Road West" said Carmella. "And the party starts tonight at 8 but I suggest you get there early should you need to scope out anything."

"Thanks for the tip Leah" Enzo said as he took another bite. "Wait" said Carmella. "You're really gonna sit outside and stalk the place?" "Hey" said Enzo. "You do what you gotta do. I'm all about trying whatever it takes just along as its halfway legal."

"Can I ask you something?" Carmella asked. "Sure" Enzo said. "Lay it on me." "Have you ever considered being friends with her first?" Carmella asked. "You know just friends?" "Never heard of that concept" Enzo said as he sat his bowl down on a coffee table.

"It wouldn't hurt to do that too" said Carmella. "It could actually help to well…build a foundation." "I don't know about that" said Enzo. "It couldn't help for you to try to do things a little differently this time" said Carmella. "I know we all sound like broken records but we do it in love. You're our best friend and we never ever wanna see anything bad happening to you."

"'Preciate it" said Enzo. Carmella nodded as Enzo took a moment to reflect on her words. " _Nah_ " he thought. " _There's no need to be anybody else but me_." "So" Carmella said. "What are you wearing?" "Why is there some sort of a dress code I should know about?" Enzo asked. "No" said Carmella. "Just don't wear jeans or one of those bandana things you're obsessed with and for God's sakes do something about your wild ass hair. It has to be tamed."

"Well you know me, ain't a thang about me that's tame" Enzo said. Carmella did a face palm at his comments. "Just think about it alright?" She said. "Ain't gonna be a promise" said Enzo as he chuckled. Carmella shook her head in response. "But uh no worries" said Enzo. "A few hours of casin' the joint will provide me with a surefire way in. The Zo-man don't need no ticket."

Carmella shook her head once again. "Whatever you say Eric." "EA all day everyday" Enzo said. "Good luck with stalking the place" said Carmella. "Seriously…"

* * *

That evening, Enzo arrived outside the venue. It was a little after 7:30 when he decided to finally step out of the car after spending 3 hours surveying the area. After much thought, Enzo was able to determine that the best way for him to enter unnoticed was through a side door that lead into the kitchen.

"Made it" he said to himself. As he began to walk around, he ran into a young man who looked to be no older than 20. "Sorry sir" the man said. "It's just that I'm in a hurry I didn't mean to." "Don't worry about it kid" Enzo said. "Just make sure to watch my suit the next time. It's 100% Versace." "Sorry sir" said the man. "Hey wait a minute. You're Enzo Amore! From WWE!"

"The one and only" Enzo said as he began dusting himself off. "Oh my gosh man I love you!" said the man. "You're like my favorite superstar they got on the roster right now. You're definitely keeping the place alive." "I do what I do" Enzo said nonchalantly as he tucked his fingers towards his palm and dusted himself off. "I mean serious bro" said the man. "You're fucking amazing!"

"I am who I am for a reason" said Enzo. "I mean after all, they don't call me the best wrestler in the company for nothing." "Gosh man I just can't believe my own eyes" said the overzealous young man. "You're so real in person and everything and I never thought I'd ever get to meet you." " _Jeez enough sweet talk kid_ " Enzo thought. " _I'm on a tight schedule here with big things to do tonight_." "Thanks kid" said Enzo aloud. "I uh...appreciate it and since you feel that way, I hope you know that we're doing a show-RAW on Monday in Laredo. You should definitely check it out if you can seeing as tickets are still up for grabs."

"Oh I will certainly do Sir" said the man. "I would ask for your autograph or a picture or something but I'm kind of on the clock." "On the clock for what?" Enzo asked. "Well I'm the guy they hired to jump out of the cake" said the man. "Cake as in the birthday cake?" Enzo asked. "Yes" the man said. "Say uh kid, would you mind tellin' me what's your name?" Enzo asked. "Jerry" said the man. As Enzo began to stroke his beard, another idea formulated in his mind.

"Say Jerry? Would you like to make an extra 500 bucks tonight?" "Er-ya-sure" Jerry said. "How?" Enzo chuckled as he put his arm around Jerry. "Take a walk with me. I've got an offer that you won't be able to refuse…."

* * *

About an hour later, Sasha, Finn and Alexa arrived at the venue. They had her blindfolded in order to delay revealing her surprise until the right moment. "You guys" Sasha said. "This thing is hella itchy." "Sorry darling" Alexa said. "You'll be able to take it off soon." Finn waved over for two staff members to wheel in her giant cake. "Okay now!" Alexa said as she and Finn removed the blindfold and when they did, it left Sasha completely speechless.

"Oh my God you guys its beautiful" she said. "Is that really my cake?" "It sure is" Finn smiled. Sasha took a moment to view her cake. It was about 7 feet tall, hot pink with black frosting. Alexa whispered over her shoulders to Finn. "Hit it." Finn cued the DJ to begin playing the music. As Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" began to play, Enzo immediately popped up causing everyone in the room to drop their jaws.

" **HOW YA DOIN' MERCDEDES!?** " he yelled. " **HEY I'VE GOT A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR THE BIRTHDAY GIRL! HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY!** " Sasha covered her mouth with her hands in pure amusement. As she started to chuckle, Alexa stormed up to Enzo.

"Just what in the utter living fuck are you doing here **Eric!?** " "What?" Enzo asked. "You should know by now that it ain't a party till I get here." "Get down from there **RIGHT NOW!** " Alexa seethed. "Alexis" Sasha said. "It's alright. I'm not upset." "You tell him he has 5 minutes to get down from there and outta here before I'm calling security" Alexa said.

"Uh…" Sasha trailed off. "I don't care what any of you do just get him out of here!" Alexa said as she walked away. Sasha turned her attention back onto Enzo and as she did, she let out a brief chuckle.

"Here Eric let me help you" Sasha said. Enzo looked down at her and as he did, he noticed the beautiful low cut red mini dress she was wearing and he instantly became caught up in her beauty.

"Eric?" Sasha said as she stuck out both hands for him to take. "It's alright. It's only frosting." Enzo placed his hands into hers and she helped him down. Cass and Carmella walked over. "Eric what happened to your clothes?" she asked. "They're caked in…well cake." "It's alright" Enzo said. "I'll have it dry-cleaned. "Isn't that Versace?" Carmella asked. "It's alright" said Enzo. "Seriously it is." "That's going to leave a nasty stain" said Cass. "No shit Sherlock" Enzo said as Cass laughed.

"I gotta give it to you man" he said. "You're one bold ass motherfucker." "Ugh Sash is there some place I could get cleaned off at?" Enzo asked. "Yeah" said Sasha. "Follow me." She led Enzo into a hallway and before they reached their destination, she turned around and stopped him. "How'd you even get in there anyway?"

"I paid some shmuck half a stack" said Enzo. "You'd be pretty surprised how easy it was." As he removed his pale blue collared shirt, Sasha found herself staring at his toned chest.

"And uh don't worry about the clothes too much" Enzo said as he tossed the shirt onto the grey carpeted floor. "It was only $2,000 but it's 'aight." He looked up at her to see that she was staring at him and upon this realization, he chuckled. "I uh hope I didn't ruin your birthday" he said. "No you didn't. You've kind of…made it interesting" Sasha said as she playfully slid her hand down his chest and took a taste of the frosting.

"Mmm Strawberry. My favorite." "I take it that it tastes good?" Enzo asked. "Definitely" said Sasha. "Well I was just trying to make sure that you had an extra special day" Enzo said. "How sweet" Sasha said. She stepped up closer to him and kissed his cheek. Enzo stood in awe as his heartrate increased. "You're very welcome" he said. "So uh how interesting did I make it?" "Very" Sasha teasingly said.

"Good…good" Enzo said nervously. "Are…are you blushing Eric?" Sasha teased. "No, no of course not" Enzo lied. "I'm naturally this complexion especially when it's cold out." "It's 58 degrees outside" Sasha said. "No it isn't" Enzo hastily said.

"Right…" Sasha chuckled. "Anyways I dunno how I could ever repay you for this type of surprise. It was totally...unexpected from you." "Come with next week on the set of my commercial" Enzo said. "You need to see the real one in action. It is a must see I guarantee."

"Wow you really didn't have to do all of that" said Sasha. "Really." "I wanted to Mercedes" said Enzo. Sasha pondered for a few seconds before responding. "I mean I guess I could go. But only for a few minutes. Maybe an hour or two." "There's just one little teensy weensy catch" Enzo said.

"There's always a catch when it comes to you isn't it?" said Sasha. "You'd have to be willin' to travel though" said Enzo. "Travel?" Sasha asked. Enzo smirked. "I…" he said as he lifted up her hand. "Would be absolutely honored if the birthday girl would join me." As he kissed her hand, it sent shivers throughout her body in a way that one would describe as exhilarating.

After a few moments of silence between the two, Sasha finally broke it. "Are you gonna let go of my hand or should I send for help?" She asked. "Your wish is my command" Enzo said as he released his hand from hers. "Oh so you're my genie now?" Sasha asked. "For tonight I am" said Enzo. "And for the record, you still have 2 more wishes left." "Hmm" Sasha said. "When's the expiration date?"

"Whenever you like it be" said Enzo. "But I should warn you that should you decide to make all 3 tonight, they'll be even better than the ones you make at a later time. Oh and they can be whatever ya like."

"Deal" she said. "I'll go to your photo shoot slash commercial thing." "Mercedes you have made an excellent choice" said Enzo. "And I can ensure you that you won't regret it." "I better not" Sasha said. "It takes place on February 3rd at 6AM in SoHo. I'll text you the address" said Enzo.

"You expect me to get to New York at that time of the morning?" she asked. Enzo rested his arm up against the wall he leaned on. "Well how about I make it worth your while?" he asked. "You make it worth my while? How?" Sasha asked. "Sorry" Enzo said. "That part's confidential." "Well as my genie I wish you would tell me" Sasha said. "Or rather…I command you to."

"Alright" Enzo said. "Bring your best outfit." "I have many of those" Sasha said. "Bring your favorite one" Enzo said. "Alright" said Sasha as she began to walk away. "I'll see you then."

"Oh and birthday girl!?" Enzo called out. "Yes genie?" Sasha asked. "I'd save that last wish for somethin' very important" said Enzo. "Oh I plan on to" Sasha said as she continued to make her way off. "Hey Mercedes Benz" Enzo called out. "Yes genie?" Sasha asked. "Enjoy the rest of your birthday" he said. "Thanks Eric" Sasha said. "I will." As Sasha continued her way, Enzo called out to her once again.

"Mercedes!" "Yeah?" Sasha said as she spun around. Enzo walked towards her. "Just where exactly were you gonna lead me to?" he asked. "Come on" said Sasha. "I'll show you." She grabbed his hand and led him to a balcony. "We can see the whole skyline from here" she said. "Isn't it beautiful?" "Yeah" Enzo said in awe.

"Hey Eric, how'd you even get the address to this place anyway?" Sasha asked. "Let's just say I have my ways" said Enzo. "If you say so" Sasha said as her iPhone began buzzing. "What's wrong?" Enzo asked. "Nothing" said Sasha. "It's just Alexis, she wanted to know where I went." "I don't want to keep you" said Enzo. "It looks like they went through a lot of trouble to put this together."

"Don't worry about it" said Sasha as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "Can't really do much without the birthday girl anyway." "True that" said Enzo. "See you inside, Eric" Sasha said and with that, she went back inside, leaving Enzo to cherish the moments he had just experienced with her. As she left, he took the opportunity to eye her frame.

" _If only she knew the shit that she does to me man…_ " he thought. " _If only she knew…_ "

 **A/N: Review if you wish.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Superstar**

A few days had passed and it was now February 3rd. Enzo was somewhere in a SoHo, NYC studio well into his commercial shoot when the director had called for another 10 minute break.

"You're doing a mighty fine job Eric" he said. "Everyone when I say take 10 I mean take 10. Not 9 and certainly not 11!" Enzo chuckled as he sipped from his water bottle and as he looked up, he noticed Sasha knocking at the door. Joy instantly filled his soul as his eyes connected with hers. He waved her over but as she entered the room, a security guard stopped her.

"Excuse me miss" he said. "Are you authorized to be in here?" "She's with me" Enzo said. "Excuse me" Sasha said as she stepped past Darryl. "So nice of ya to finally make it" Enzo said. "Sorry I'm late" said Sasha. "You seriously can't get any parking anywhere here."

"It be like that sometimes" said Enzo. "But the more important thing here is that you made it." "So…" Sasha said as she glanced at her iPhone. "Since it's already like 3 in the afternoon, how much have you shot?" "Believe it or not only the first 30-40 seconds" said Enzo. "You're kidding" said Sasha. "Well how much longer does it have to be?"

"Another 30 seconds" said Enzo. "And we're set to be outa the studio by 10." "Oh my God Eric that's like an 18 hour day" said Sasha. "Actually 19 because I had to be here at 5 for hair, makeup and wardrobe" said Enzo as he tightened the cap on his bottle. "But believe me the results will be worth it." "I hope so" said Sasha. "Just wait 'till ya see me in action" said Enzo. "Your mind will be blown." "If you say so" said Sasha as the director approached them.

"Hey Eugene" Enzo said. "I thought we had another 5 minutes or so?" "I know Eric my sincerest apologies" said Eugene. "But we're already about 2 hours behind schedule and we'll be starting again now actually." "Filmin' a commercial ain't as easy as ya may think it is" Enzo said. Eugene turned to look at Sasha. "Are you…? You are!" he said with excitement.

"I am what?" Sasha asked. "You're Sasha Banks!" said Eugene. "Something like that" said Sasha. "It's Mercedes nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand for Eugene to shake. "I normally don't do this on such a short notice but what the hell? I am the director after all" said Eugene. "How would you like to be in the commercial?"

" **ME!?** Oh I dunno. I couldn't possibly" said Sasha. "Sure you can" said Eugene. "But isn't this Eric's sponsorship?" Sasha asked. "I don't wanna intrude." "You won't be" said Eugene. "You're what we've been missing all day. A female, rather woman's aspect to the whole thing. What do you say?" "Listen to the director man" said Enzo. "He knows his shit."

"But I'm not even dressed for anything" said Sasha. "My hair's all in a messy tied up bun, I don't have my contacts in and I'm wearing sweats and slippers for goodness sakes…I totally forgot to bring something much more suitable." "Don't worry" said Eugene. "We'll take care you of you in a jiffy. Mariah! Olivia! Robbie! Ms. Mercedes needs to be fitted and made suitable for the shoot- **PRONTO!** "

"Well I mean…alright I guess?" Sasha said. "You won't regret it" said Enzo. "Trust me. This'll be dope as fuck."

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Enzo was finishing having his makeup touched up when Sasha finally stepped out onto the set and as soon as she did, he instantly became enamored by her beauty. She was wearing grey shorts and a sports bra and the same pair of sneakers that Enzo was wearing.

"W-wow Mercedes you look amazing" he stammered. "Thanks Eric" Sasha said as she flipped her crimped hair. "Ok now we're going to start this last take" said Eugene. "We only have a couple of hours left so let's make this one perfect people! Chop chop!" Sasha nodded as she took a step closer to Enzo.

"Now" Eugene said. "For this shot I want you two to both sit down with Ms. Mercedes sitting in front of you Eric and I want your arms to rest over her shoulders-you know in an embracing type of way." "You mean like a couple?" Enzo asked. "Precisely" Eugene said. Enzo turned to look at Sasha as she shrugged.

"It's alright Eric it's just a commercial. Oh" she paused. "Here lemme help yo-your bandana looks a bit crooked." As she began readjusting his bandana, his heartbeat started to race again as his face became flushed. "You alright there dude?" she asked. "Y-yea" Enzo stammered.

"Ok places people" Eugene commanded. "You two take a seat. Charla come in this shot and make sure that not a thing is out of place, got it!?" "We should probably take a seat now" Sasha said. "You first." Enzo nodded as he sat onto the floor. "You're going to need to sit back a bit Ms. Mercedes" Charla said. "Um ok" Sasha said as she scooted back towards Enzo's crotch.

"Not awkward at all" he said nervously. "You're too much you know that?" Sasha chuckled. Enzo draped his arms around her shoulders. " **AND ACTION!** " Eugene shouted. " **CUE THE MUSIC….NOW!** "

As the camera's rolled and snapped photos, the two instantly became lost in the moment as their sole focus became on making sure that the other was comfortable in the shot.

"Beautiful!" Eugene cheered. "So much chemistry! Mercedes tilt your head a bit and give me a "dare to mess with me" sort of glare!" While Sasha followed the director's instructions, Enzo couldn't help but feel an extra boost of confidence coursing throughout his body.

"Excellent!" Eugene said. "Now for our next set I'll ask you to stand up and face each other. "Ok…" Sasha said as Enzo helped her up. Eugene stood back and thought for a moment on how exactly to pose the pair. Finally he walked over towards them. "May I?" he asked. "Sure" said Sasha. Eugene took her hands and placed them onto Enzo's chest. "Robbie come spray Mr. Arndt with that bottle. He needs more sweat on him!" Now you two, I'm going to need you to look into each other's eyes like you want each other more than anything.

" _Oh that'll be easy_ " Enzo thought. "And no smirking" said Eugene. "This is a serious shoot. This is art." Sasha and Enzo turned to face each other. "Oh that is **GOLD!** " Eugene said. "Charla fluff up her hair and someone tell Marty in the back to hit the fan. Let's make magic people."

"This is rather interesting" Sasha said. "Yeah" Enzo softly said. " **ANDDDD ACTION!** " Eugene shouted through the megaphone. The two continued to maintain their gaze. Surprisingly, Sasha found herself actually enjoying the shoot. When she slightly tilted her head to have a better view of Enzo, Eugene shouted in excitement but by then she had begun to drown out the sounds of Eugene's voice and only concentrated on Enzo.

" _He smells so good today_ " she thought. " _Very good…._ "

* * *

After about 4 hours, production concluded and Sasha and Enzo were left alone in his dressing room where they conversed.

"Thanks for inviting me again Eric" she said. "It was really cool even though I totally didn't have a clue of what I was doing but nonetheless I had a lot of fun." "No problem" Enzo said. "I'm really glad that you could make it." "It's no problem" said Sasha as she began packing up. "It was actually pretty cool, pretty…interesting."

"Interesting how?" Enzo asked. "Oh it's just that I've never actually thought that in my wildest dreams I'd actually end up…you know? Doing a photo shoot with you or whatever" said Sasha.

Enzo chuckled. "Well uh Mercedes" he said. "We do work together. It was bound to happen at some point." "True but still" said Sasha. "I never thought it would."

"So uh…what else do you…dream about?" Enzo asked. Sasha smirked. "All sorts of things" she said. "Things like what?" Enzo asked as he walked up to her. She turned around to see the much taller man over towering her.

"It's private" she said coyly. "How private?" Enzo asked teasingly. "Very private" said Sasha. "And it's a secret that I'll always keep." "Secrets are meant to come out" said Enzo. "True, but not mine" Sasha said as she playfully poked his chest. She turned around and slugged her duffle bag across her shoulders.

"Take it easy ok Eric?" "Oh I will" Enzo said. "Get home safe." "You too" Sasha said as she left and as she did, Eugene entered.

"I just wanted to thank you for taking care of everything for me Gene" Enzo said. "Oh and for allowing Mercedes to join in even though she really wasn't supposed to." "The pleasure is mine" said Eugene. "Besides, you two have a lot of natural chemistry together. I haven't seen such aspect in a long time."

"Well you know me I sure am extremely blessed in that department when it comes to the women" said Enzo. "Good luck with everything Mr. Arndt" said Eugene as he stuck out his hand for Enzo to shake. "I hope to do business with you again soon." "For sure" Enzo said as he shook Eugene's hand. "For sure."

 **A/N: Thank you again for your reviews and let me know if it should continue.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Ante up**

Over the next several days, Enzo found that he wasn't able to keep his mind off of the photo shoot that he had earlier in the month. It was now Valentine's Day when he sat on the edge of his bed flipping through various television stations when Mandy entered into the room.

"You keep laying down like that Zo and you'll end up fat" she said as she fluffed up her blonde hair in front of the mirror. "Amanda, shut up" Enzo said. "It's my day off and I can do whatever I want." "You mean it's our day off" said Mandy. "And besides it's the most romantic day of the year. Aren't you gonna take me out or something?" "I made reservations at Castellano's" Enzo said flatly. "Aren't you gonna get dressed?" Mandy asked.

"Mandy, it's only 7PM. There are 24 hours in a day" said Enzo. "Do that math." "Ugh you lazy shit" Mandy said as she slammed her fist onto the dresser, causing its contents to shake.

"What the fuck is your problem girl!?" Enzo yelled. "My problem is you" said Mandy. "You know what Mandy-" Enzo said as his phone rang.

"Oh what is it now?" Mandy complained. "Yeah bro?" Enzo said. After a few moments, a huge smile formed across his face. " **OH MAN YOU DID BRO!? CONGRATULATIONS MY GUY!** I'm so happy for you!" Mandy clacked her heels together as she folded her arms in annoyance. "What a loser" she grumbled. Enzo got off the phone and stood up.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" Mandy asked. "Will and Leah got engaged" said Enzo. "And?" Mandy scoffed. "You act like that doesn't happen every day." Enzo rolled his eyes. Luckily, Mandy didn't notice him doing so.

"You know what?" Enzo said. "I think I'll cancel that reservation of mine." " **EXCUSE ME!?** " Mandy sniped. "It's Valentine's Day." "Yeah well I gotta headache" Enzo said as he walked into the bathroom. "You're kidding me right?" Mandy asked. "No Amanda for once I'm not" Enzo said as he turned on the faucet.

"You can't do this to me" Mandy seethed. "I think I just did" Enzo said as began to test the water. "Ok" Mandy said calmly. Enzo glanced at the side of his eyes as he watched his girlfriend quietly leave. After all, he had every reason in the world to be extra wary of her. "What a psychopath" he muttered as he dipped his face into his water filled palms.

After a few moments, he turned off the faucet and stripped out of his clothes, leaving him completely naked. He walked over towards the shower and as he did, he looked up into the glass and saw Mandy's reflection, causing his pale blue eyes to widen in horror.

"What the-" As he spun around, he found that an 8 inch knife was suddenly pressed up against his neck. "Amanda what the fuck are you doing!?" Enzo panicked. "Nothing" Mandy said. "Just reminding you who you're dealing with." "Amanda get this knife away from my neck **RIGHT NOW!** " Enzo hissed.

Mandy chuckled as she continued to press the knife further into Enzo's neck. "Now why should I?" The two exchanged intense stares before Enzo took his free hand and slapped Mandy's hand as hard as he could, causing the knife to fall out of her hand. He snatched it up from the tiled floor as fast as he could. She let out a pained yelp as she grabbed her hands in an attempt to soothe them.

"What the fuck is wrong with you bitch!?" he hissed. "What kind of a nut job are ya!?" Mandy smirked as she continued rubbing her hands. "Oh come on Zo-zo you know that I was just kidding around. Just like the last time."

* * *

 _June 19th, 2016_

 _Enzo was in the kitchen cooking one of his favorite post-workout meals. "Amanda!" he called out. "Dinner's almost ready!" As he went to turn the oven off, he heard a thud nearby. "What the fuck?" he said to himself and as he looked up, he saw that there was a knife stuck in the wall above him._

" _ **MANDY WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?**_ _" he hissed. "Oh it was nothing" Mandy nonchalantly said as she calmly filed her nails. "What do ya mean it was nothin' girl?" Enzo said. "There's a fucking knife stuck in the wall."_

" _I was practicing my darting skills" said Mandy. "It can get pretty boring around here watching you take all day to cook and everything." "Excuse me are ya tellin' me that ya threw a knife at me!?" Enzo hissed. "You're so sensitive" said Mandy. "Ya just threw a fuckin' knife at me" Enzo said. "Are ya outta your mind!?"_

" _Chill out" Mandy said. "Now ya listen to me" Enzo said sternly. "If ya ever do this shit again, it's gonna be ova for us,_ _ **UNDERSTAND!?**_ _" Mandy rolled her eyes as she got off of the bar stool, Enzo never took his eyes off of her for a moment as she walked away. He was fuming with anger and perhaps even a sense of fear. It was the first time in their relationship of only 3 months did Mandy ever acted in such way and it was leaving him in a world of confusion as a result._

* * *

Present day,

February 14th, 2017.

Despite Mandy's attempt at relaying Enzo ensuring words, he was no longer having any of it.

"Now you listen to me here" he said intensely. "Ya try the shit again and it's over for you. **GOT IT!?** " Mandy rolled her eyes as he grabbed her arms and began to shake her. **"I MEAN IT!** " he yelled. " **DON'T YOU EVER THREATEN ME AGAIN OR I'M CALLIN' THE COPS ON YA!** " His eyes were filled with so much anger, it nearly caught Mandy off guard…not that she would let onto it of course.

"Eric you don't scare me" said Mandy. "No one does." "Get out" Enzo warned. "Happy Valentine's Day" Mandy said as she left the bathroom. Enzo turned to the mirror and as he did, he noticed that he had a small nick on his neck that was bleeding. He shook off his shaken nerves. He realized that he was going to leave Mandy rather sooner than later but problem was, that wasn't going to be easy as he thought…

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasha and Finn were spending time together in a park somewhere in Orlando. It was no doubt that she was experiencing a far better day than Enzo. "

I'm still so very sorry again for having to reschedule this so many times Fergal" she said. "It's just that I was very busy on the first of this month and coming to the trail with you…"

"Mercedes it's alright" said Finn. "We have all the time in the world. Besides its 2 degrees warmer today so it'll make the trail a bit more enjoyable." "I love how you always look at the bright side" said Sasha. "I try" said Finn. "The freshness of the air is truly breathtaking" Sasha said as she deeply inhaled. "Breathtaking isn't it?" Finn asked. Sasha exhaled before answering. "Sure is."

Finn looked up and noticed an ice cream truck nearby at the end of the trail. "Want some?" he asked. "Definitely" said Sasha. "Lead the way." As the two began walking towards the truck, Sasha couldn't help but find herself thinking of the real and obvious reason why she had chosen to skip out on meeting with Finn earlier: Enzo.

"Good afternoon" said the vendor. "What would you like?" "I'd like to have two vanillas" said Finn. At this words, Sasha snapped out of her favorable daze. "Uh actually Fergal, I like Strawberry" she said. "Strawberry everything." "Oops sorry" said the vendor. "But my truck only carries the standard Chocolate, Vanilla and Rocky Road."

"What kind of truck doesn't have Strawberry as a flavor?" Sasha questioned. "Isn't that a standard flavor too?" "Sorry lady I don't make the rules, the company does" said the vendor. "Complain to them."

"It's alright" said Finn. "Would you prefer any of the other flavors?" "Sure" said Sasha. "Chocolate is fine." "Great" said the Vendor. "That'll be $6 dollars."

"Orlando sure is expensive" said Sasha. "True" said Finn. "$3 for a cone? I usually pay no more than $2.50." "Actually they're cups" said Finn. "Sturdy ones and the prices are pretty much the norm." While Sasha began to indulge her frozen treat, Finn waved off the vender.

"Excited that it's practically Mania season?" he asked. "Of course" Sasha said. "However I'm still quite unaware of what my involvement will be." "Perhaps it'll be something with Charlotte" said Finn. "Yeah" said Sasha. "Perhaps." "I have a little surprise for you" said Finn. "Really?" Sasha asked. "Yeah. Really" Finn said as he leaned in to kiss her. Stunned, Sasha dropped her cone onto the ground as a result. "Whoa…" Sasha trailed off as she broke from Finn. "Where'd that come from? I mean I know where it came from but still…"

"Oh you know?" Finn said. "I just wanted to see how good of a kisser you were." "Hmm" Sasha pondered. "I guess now you know." "Yeah I guess I do know" Finn said softly. "Happy Valentine's Day." Sasha remained quiet. After all, she didn't know what to say. Sure she could have reciprocated, but even she knew that in her heart, she just didn't feel the same way as Finn. " _Perhaps if I give myself some more time, I will_ " she thought. " _Hopefully…_ "

 **A/N: Thanks for all of your reviews.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13: Living single**

Another several weeks had passed and it was now March 29th where Enzo had once again found himself leaving Stephanie's office after having his latest social media antics questioned. Sighing, he made his way back to his rental car where his friends Cass, Mojo Rawley and Carmella were awaiting him.

He was just beyond exhausted between work and having to find ways of dodging Mandy and it was beginning to cause his stress levels to reach an all-time high. After all, it was completely understandable. He had been dealing with Mandy's ways for almost a year now and he was now slowly finding himself reaching a breaking point…one he never wanted to get to ever again. He opened the driver side door and threw himself inside, slamming the door shut behind him and for a while he sat in silence, starring hard at the steering wheel of his rental.

Cass was the first to finally break the long and uncomfortable silence. "What'd she say now?" he asked. "I'm to not use social media until Mania day" Enzo said as he buckled up his seat belt. "Not that I'm really in the mood to give a fuck about it."

"Hey let's go to that diner off of Layfette" Carmella said. "It's late at night so we shouldn't really draw a crowd to us." "I don't care" Enzo said. "We really need to discuss Amanda" said Carmella.

"Fuck Amanda" Enzo heatedly said. "I hate her." "Man when are you gonna leave her?" Cass asked. "I mean…man don't you ever get tired of sleeping with one eye opened?" "It's complicated" said Enzo. "And let's please just leave it at that."

"We will not" said Cass. "You're my best friend and I only want the best for you because I love you." "I know" Enzo said sadly. "And when I tell you this I mean it" said Cass. "So when I say you need to let her go because I fear for your life then you should do it." "Let's just be thankful that he went to spend the night over at his brother Brandon's house after the incident" said Carmella.

"Leave Mandy?" Mojo asked. "Why on Earth would he want to leave her?" "When the time is right I will" said Enzo. "Can't ever leave one job for another without the other." "You're priorities are seriously skewed bro" Cass said. "If some broad ever put a knife to my throat it'll be beyondddd over."

"Wait what?" Mojo asked. "I'm a bit confused." "I rather focus on the really dope ass pool party that I'm about to throw at our hotel on Friday." "What I need you to focus on is dumping that psycho bitch outta your life bro" Cass sternly said. "I mean it."

"Am I the only one in this car who doesn't have a clue as to what's going on?" Mojo asked. "You didn't tell him?" Carmella asked. Enzo let out a huge sigh. "I'm not in love with Amanda anymore….I've fallen in love with Mercedes." " **WHAT!?** " Mojo said. " **ARE YOU SERIOUS BRO?** "

"As serious as he's ever been" Cass said. "Dude where have I been!?" Mojo asked. "Chasing the ladies a bit _too_ much" said Carmella. "I'm still a bit lost on the whole Mandy situation" said Mojo. Enzo face palmed himself as Cass turned to face Mojo. "She's…been abusing him" he said. "And to put it bluntly…it's domestic violence."

"And it doesn't just happen to women" said Carmella. "It can happen to anyone." "Oh man bro I'm so sorry" said Mojo. "You should press charges against her and definitely break up with her."

"She pulled a knife on me man, ya think it's gonna be that easy to get away from her?" Enzo asked. "If she already did that man, then she's capable of killing you" said Mojo. "And I'd hate to see that happen." "I…I really fear for your life too" Carmella worriedly said. "It sounds like her madness is just escalating." "Hey now let's not get crazy here" said Enzo. "Ain't nobody gonna die. I've got everything under control."

"That's good to know" said Cass. "Now handle it." "Onto much lighter things ahead" said Carmella. "I look forward to your party Eric. Did you invite Mercedes?" "Hell yeah" said Enzo. "I texted her the other day and she said she's gonna stop by."

"Will she be bringing Fergal?" Carmella asked. "Don't know. Don't care" said Enzo. "I'm only checking for Mercedes, not Devitt." "I'm still so very confused" Mojo said. "We'll catch you up later" said Enzo as he started the engine. "Besides I have a feelin' that Mania's gonna be a bit extra special for me." "How so?" Carmella asked. "Because" said Enzo. "I'm finally gonna tell Mercedes how I feel about her."

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasha was spending the day relaxing in her hotel room. She had already arrived in Orlando for the big day. As she continued unpacking her suitcase, she received a knock at the door. It was Alexa and Bayley.

"Hey girlies" Sasha said as the trio embraced each other with hugs. "Come on in." "I'm glad we got the double suite thing" said Bayley. "Is Fergal on his way?" Alexa. "Yeah" said Sasha. "He's driving over in about an hour or so."

"So…where are the details?" Alexa asked. "I wanna hear how everything's going between you?" "Alexis…" Bayley trailed off. "What I'm just curious" said Alexa. "Things are going well" Sasha said. "So well that you're lounging around in Pink sweats and a matching sports bra?" Alexa said.

"Well I knew that I was still expecting you two" said Sasha. "There was no time to throw on something sexy." "Speaking of sexy..." Alexa teased. "Have you two…?"

" **ALEXIS**!" Sasha and Bayley said. "Girls you act like I'm playing detective or something?" "I feel like you are" said Sasha. "And for your information…we've haven't had sex yet."

"You haven't?" Alexa asked. "Lexie we're not even official yet" said Sasha. "It's only been like 3 months since we started talking, not to mention we've only been out on a few dates and I'm just trying to be extremely careful to avoid what happened to me the last time….I can't afford to go through that **ever** again."

"I understand" said Alexa. "And I'm sorry." Sasha nodded as she took a seat back on her bed. "Planning on going to the beach or something?" Bayley asked. "No" said Sasha. "To the pool." "Cool but I didn't pack any swimsuits. I guess I was just too nervous."

"We can go shopping tomorrow for one if you'd like" said Sasha. "Sure" said Bayley. "If you're going then so I am" said Alexa. "Um I think you'll wanna sit this one out" said Sasha. "Why?" asked Alexa. "Because it's Eric's party" said Sasha. "Wait he invited you to a party?" Bayley. "A pool one?"

"Yeah" said Sasha. "A few days ago." "Yep you're definitely right about that one" said Alexa. "Ima pass on that one." "But isn't Taylor going?" asked Sasha. "I mean I saw the guest list." "There's a guest list?" Bayley asked. "Wait. You're telling me that Taylor. MY Taylor got invited to that trash?" Alexa.

"Yes" said Sasha. "In fact, Enzo tweeted out what he called an "exclusive guest list." "Lemme see that" Alexa said. Sasha handed her the phone in which Alexa saw for herself who was going. "He even invited the Bellas."

"Yeah but I heard they turned it down" said Sasha. "You know since Nikki's away at the hospital somewhere getting help and her family's there to support her." "Jeez" said Alexa. "What I don't see here is Mandy."

"Maybe she got an automatic invite because she's his girlfriend?" Sasha said. "But William and Leah are on the list" said Alexa. "That makes no sense." "Maybe they're having a hard time" said Bayley. "If they are, then he deserves it" said Alexa.

"That's a bit harsh there Alexis" said Sasha. "Ask me if I care" Alexa yawned. She handed Sasha back her phone. "Ima go text Taylor and ask him to not go. I can't believe he didn't even tell me."

"Maybe he's not even going" said Sasha. "He better not" said Alexa. "Not unless he wants his relationship status to change." "You sure you wanna skip out?" Sasha asked. "I don't wanna leave you here alone while the three of us head out." "Trust me I'm giving this a hard pass" said Alexa. "I'd rather die."

"Chill" said Bayley. "It's not that serious." "Says you" said Alexa. "But I can't stand that rat ass looking motherfucker. Just thinking about him is making me wanna vomit." "He's not a rat" Sasha said. "Or at least…he doesn't look like one." She suddenly paused as Bayley and Alexa both starred at her with puzzled looks on their faces. " _Nice save there_ " Sasha thought. " _Real smooth_."

"As I was saying" Alexa continued. "A rat is a rat is a rat is a rat." Bayley let out a chuckled. "It's not like he ever snitched on anyone" she said. "Pamela I never said he was a snitch" said Alexa. "I just said that he looked like a rat." "But you dated that "rat looking motherfucker" before" said Sasha. "And you both know how much of a train wreck that became and the way it ended" said Alexa.

"Trust me, we'll never forget" said Sasha. "Damn him" Alexa said. "Damn him straight to hell for what he did to me." Sasha sighed as she laid back down on her bed and she began to reread through her and Enzo's texts and smiled.

"Got a cute text from Fergal I see?" Bayley teased. "Yeah…" Sasha lied. "I'll leave you alone to enjoy it" Bayley said as she walked away, leaving Sasha alone. She couldn't wait to attend Enzo's party on Friday and even though it was only 2 days away, she felt like it was an eternity.


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14: Let me blow ya mind**

 **A/N: I am back as I've mentioned I had to wait until my medical condition cleared. I was given strict orders not to use my arm for 2-3 weeks until the inflammation cleared.**

* * *

Another 2 days had passed and it was now March 31rst when Enzo stood outside by the hotel pool directing orders to the staff. "Hey bozo. I said put all of the ice in that silver tray shit thing to keep all of the champagne nice and fuckin' cold alright?" "Sorry Mr. Arndt" said a man. Enzo rolled his eyes as Cass and Carmella approached.

"We see you've been up for a while" said Carmella. "Well you know me" said Enzo. "Everything's gotta be perfect." "Dude it's only 1PM" said Cass. "What time does it start again?"

"In an hour" said Enzo. "And it don't matta. You know how much I like to ensure that my parties are the best ones." "I'm just glad you didn't invite Mandy and Alexa" said Carmella. "It would have been a massive catfight or something."

"Ain't no catfights happening here unless I give the ok" said Enzo. "I just hope that you didn't invite any strippers" said Cass. "Eh they'll always be time for that" said Enzo. "You're such a guy" Carmella said as she rolled her eyes. "Anyways while you two chat, Ima go sun tan."

"Where's Mojo by the way?" Enzo asked. "Oh he's still passed out drunk in his room after that wild night you two had at the strip club" Carmella said from afar. "Seriously that man's a lightweight" said Enzo. "And it's such a shame. I'm known him for 9 years and he still can't hold his liquor…or that much of it anyway…"

"Just take it easy on the drinking this weekend bro" said Cass. "We need to conserve as much energy as possible for Sunday's match. Not to mention, we'll be spending all day tomorrow doing press events." "Of course bro" said Enzo. "What could possibly go wrong?..."

* * *

That evening, the pool party was still going strong as Enzo stood at the poolside eyeing Sasha from afar. " _I swear you're the only one who could pull off that bikini_ " he lustfully thought.

"You've been staring at her for hours man" Cass said as he rested in his pool donut. "Go up to her and talk to her already." "Yeah if you keep drooling, you'd could full up another pool" Carmella said.

"I dunno man…" Enzo said. "You're making this a lot harder than it has to be" said Carmella. "Just start the conversation off smoothly. When we said to tone it down, we didn't mean for you to turn all the way off."

"I don't know what's wrong with me" Enzo said. "You're in love" said Carmella. "Or something like that." Enzo sighed as he walked up towards Sasha as she was standing with Bayley.

"Well what do we have over here?" he said as touched Sasha's shoulder as he walked by. "Hi Eric" said Bayley. "I would say thanks for the invite but…." "Invite?" Enzo said. "At my party everybody's allowed to come." "Not exactly true" said Sasha. "I saw your post on your exclusive guest list."

"Eh I was just sayin' that for esthetic purposes" said Enzo. "Everyone's allowed." "Even Alexis?" asked Bayley. "Yeah even her" said Enzo. "Besides I gotta present a certain image of myself at all times."

"Really?" Sasha said. "Yeah really" said Enzo. As he continued his gaze onto Sasha, he suddenly found himself enamored by her. " _You have no idea how amazin' you're lookin' right now_ " he thought. "I just wish it could be me and you girl…"

"But uh…yeah seriously" Enzo said as he continued. "You must like my micro-kini" Sasha teased. "Uh-um why?" Enzo stammered. "Because you keep staring mighty hart at me" said Sasha. "Too hard." "That's probably not the only thing that's hard" Bayley snickered. " **PAMELA!?** Sasha shrieked as she turned around. " _Whoa why is she checkin' me out down there_?" Enzo thought.

Sasha shook her head in disbelief as she turned around to face Enzo. The two began to staring at each other causing Sasha's embarrassment to begin to quickly brew.

Without word, she instantly pushed an unsuspecting Enzo into the pool. "Oh my Gosh!" Bayley said. "What you do that for?" "I needed a laugh" said Sasha. Enzo swam up to the top and took a deep inhale. "What you do that for?" he asked. Sasha chuckled. "Come find out." She suddenly took off running with Bayley as she laughed, leaving Enzo even further bewildered.

Enzo turned to Cass and Carmella who were much too busy in the corner making out to even notice his embarrassing yet confusing plight. " _Okay that was weird as fuck_ " he thought. He got out of the pool and went to search for Sasha. Luckily he found her nearby ordering at the bar.

"Hey Mercedes?" he asked. "Damn girl you've got a mean hook. What'd I do that got ya so keyed up?" Sasha couldn't help but chuckled at his words. "But seriously" said Enzo. "Do you mind tellin' me why you just shoved me into a pool?"

"Eric, don't take it so seriously" Sasha said. "You didn't do anything wrong-you look like you could have used a little fun. You're all dry at a pool party for goodness sakes." Enzo used his fingers and flipped back his drenched blond hair. "Well if you wanted to see me get wet…" he stepped closer to her. "You should've told me."

"Easy there cynical" Sasha said as she poked his chest. "As the party thrower, it's your job to entertain me." "Oh I can definitely do that for you if want me to" Enzo said. Sasha chuckled. "You know Eric, you can be pretty cool. I like that." "So I've been told" said Enzo. "Don't let it get to your head" said Sasha as she turned to the bartender. "She'll have something strawberry flavored Bruce" Enzo said.

"You remembered?" Sasha asked. "I must admit that I'm quite surprised." "Yeah well of course I do" said Enzo. The bartender handed Sasha a strawberry daiquiri. "Thank you" Sasha said. "So uh…who'd you come with anyway besides Pam?" Enzo asked. "Fergal" said Sasha. "You know Lexie isn't trying to be within the same breathing space as you unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Her loss" said Enzo. "No, her gain" Sasha said as she sipped her drink. "Besides she didn't appreciate you inviting her boyfriend and not her." "Who's her boyfriend?" Enzo asked. "Taylor" said Sasha. "Ah jeez" said Enzo. "I legitimately didn't know. Had I known, I wouldn't have."

"Well based on being here for the past 3 hours, it's a pretty safe assumption to say that he's chosen to stay behind with her at the room" said Sasha. "I really didn't mean to Mercedes" said Enzo. "Eric…" Sasha said as she sat her drink down. "Don't worry about it. Alexis isn't. Therefore you shouldn't."

"Thanks" said Enzo. "Hey Eric" said Sasha. "Thanks for inviting me and really everyone. We definitely needed this to break some of our nerves and tension surrounding our big matches."

"You're welcome Mercedes" said Enzo. "And for the future, you're always gonna be invited to my stuff." Sasha smiled. "So speaking of Devitt, where is he?" Enzo asked. "Passed out from drinking on a lounge chair" said Sasha. "Wanna hit the Jacuzzi with me?" Enzo asked. "I'm going to have to decline" said Sasha. "But hey, see you Sunday." "See ya Sunday Sash" Enzo said as he was left with hope. " _Perhaps it'll work out after all_ " he thought.

* * *

2 more days passed and it was now the night of WrestleMania 33. Enzo stood backstage of the arena as he was having his hair touched up when Cass and Mojo approached him.

"Ready big guy for our match?" Cass asked. "I was born ready" Enzo said. "Still asking Mercedes out tonight?" Mojo asked. "Fuck yeah" Enzo said. "Somebody's filled with a lot of energy" said Cass as he chuckled. "Fatal 4-ways are never a joke" said Mojo. "Ya tellin' me?" Enzo said. "Thanks Barbara, I'm Gucci." Enzo hopped off of his chair as he glanced at the time. "Okay we're on in 30. Ima go find Sash."

"Don't take long" said Cass. "I'll be by the watercooler waiting." Enzo nodded as he pulled out his iPhone and dialed Sasha. "Hey Mercedes, how are ya?" "I'm good" said Sasha. "But I'm kind of a bit busy at the moment. I'm having my laces tied and my makeup touched. What's up?"

"Can we talk?" Enzo asked. "Right at this moment?" Sasha asked. "I gotta go through the curtain in a few." "It won't take long" said Enzo. "Trust me." "Okay just stay wherever you're at. I'll be making my way towards the curtain" said Sasha. "Thanks" Enzo said. After the two ended their phone call, Sasha looked up and smiled as she saw Finn approaching her.

"I know you're extremely busy" he said. "But I just thought I caught you and wished you good luck with your match." "Thank you Fergal" Sasha said. "I'm still really sorry that you couldn't compete this year because of your shoulder."

"Don't worry about it darling" said Finn. "There's always next year and besides the doctor says that I'm almost completely finished with rehab." He leaned down to kiss her. "Go get 'em Mercedes." Sasha smiled as she got out of her chair and raced towards the ring entrance.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she said. "I'm gonna miss my cue!" As she ran towards the curtains, she stopped when she saw Enzo standing there and remembered that he wanted to talk. "Hey Eric" she said hastily. "Mercedes Benz, just the lady I was lookin' for" Enzo said. "Eric what time is it? Is K.O and Jericho still having their match?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah it's wrapping up in 2 minutes" said Enzo. "Okay good" Sasha said. As Sasha stood catching her breath, Enzo took a few moments to reflect. " _Okay…here goes nothin' Arndt_ " he thought. " _Here goes nothin'…._ " "Mercedes?" Enzo said. "Yeah Eric what's up?" Sasha said. "There's somethin' that I've been meaning to talk to ya about" said Enzo.

"What?" Sasha asked. "There's somethin' that I…I've wanted to tell ya" said Enzo. "Ya know how much we've been gettin' along lately? Well….I was sorta wonderin' if ya wanna go out with me or somethin'?"

Sasha's eyes widened in shock and as they did, silence soon followed. "Mercedes…your silence is killin' me ova here" Enzo said. "Er-Eric…" Sasha said. "I'm touched, really I am but…"

"I think you're really beautiful Mercedes" said Enzo. "Call me crazy…but I dunno I just do. I can't explain it but I just do." Enzo placed his hands into hers. "Say somethin' Mercedes."

"Why are you telling me this?" Sasha heatedly asked. "Right before I have what may be my biggest match of the year...you're dropping a bombshell on me." "Mercedes? What are ya talkin' about?" Enzo asked. "This ain't a bombshell. This ain't no joke. It's how I really feel about ya." Sasha removed her hands from his and took a step back.

"This isn't the right time to talk about this" said Sasha. "Mercedes, there never is a perfect time when it comes to stuff like this" said Enzo. "Stuff like this?" Sasha scoffed. "Eric…I thought we were just friends." "What?" Enzo asked. "You can't honestly expect me to believe that…not after everything we've been through."

"Been through what?" Sasha harshly whispered. "You make it seem like we got married or something. How many times do I have to tell you that it didn't mean anything?" She turned her back towards him as she ran her fingers through her purple hair as she let out panicked sigh.

"We still have to talk about this" said Enzo. Sasha shook her head in disagreement as she walked through the curtain, leaving Enzo worried. Cass and Mojo approached him. "We saw the whole thing bro" Cass said. "Are you alright?" Enzo gave no response.

"Listen buddy…" Cass said. "I know that you're upset and everything, but I'm gonna need you to keep it all in and put it aside so that we can have our match." Unfortunately, all Enzo could do is remain frozen in shock. He couldn't believe what had just happened between him and Sasha. "Eric!?" Cass and Mojo called out to him. "Eric are you alright man?" But Enzo continued to ignore his friends.

Sometime later, Sasha stepped back through the curtains and as the two exchanged glances, she maintained her silenced as she walked away, leaving Enzo not only sad but confused. A tear shed down his cheek as Cass wrapped an arm around him in support.

 **A/N: Review if you wish to.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~.**


	15. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER 15: Dangerously in love 2**

The next night at RAW, Sasha sat at a table in the cafeteria in silence. She was still completely at a loss for words for what Enzo had discussed with her the night before. The events kept replaying over and over again in her mind like some sort of really messed up broken record Sasha was so deeply entranced, that she didn't even notice that Bayley sat before her.

"Hey Mercedes" she said. "Are you alright? You've been quiet since last night." Sasha looked up at her friend, instantly snapping out of her thoughts. "I'm...I'm not sure anymore" she said. "Why what happened?" Bayley asked. "Too many things" said Sasha as put her head down onto the table. "I'm so confused."

"Girly I can't hear you when you're face planting yourself down onto the highly un-sanitized table" said Bayley." Sasha sighed as she looked up. "Is it Fergal?" Bayley asked. "No…not really?" Sasha hesitated.

"Is it _Eric?_ " Bayley asked. "Huh!?" Sasha asked. "Yep…it's definitely Eric" said Bayley. "Come on Merc, I know you like him or at least he likes you…well hell you both like it each other."

"H-how-?"Sasha stammered. "You're my best friend" said Bayley. "Besides the way you were looking at each other at your birthday party and at the pool thing plus I've seen your photo shoot and commercial shoot you guys have so much chemistry together…I'm not stupid and not to mention, it's hella obvious."

"No…no it isn't" Sasha lied. "Mercedes?" Bayley said. "You can stop lying to yourself now."

"Okay…so I kinda like him..." said Sasha. "Kinda?" Bayley said. "Alright I like him" Sasha said. "So then what's the problem?" Bayley asked.

"Everything" said Sasha. "He's Alexis' ex, not to mention he's dating that nut job and oh yeah I'm building something with Fergal…at least I thought I could. I thought I could make myself feel the same way he does…but it turns out that I can't."

"Okay, first of all" said Bayley. "Don't worry about Lexie. If she's really your best friend, then she'll accept how you feel about any guy and that includes Eric. Next, if you're not happy with Fergal, then just keep it as a friendship if you want. No one's forcing you to do something, and neither should you."

"But Pamela it's…Eric Ardnt" said Sasha. "He's so…" "Cute?" Bayley asked. "I mean at least to you." "A bit more than that" said Sasha. "Don't ask me to explain it…I myself still can't. He's cute but he's just so damn weird…hell I seriously can't even define it."

"You don't have to" said Bayley. "Your heart wants what it wants. You owe no one an explanation of it." Sasha nodded. "You gotta tell him how you feel" said Bayley. "But isn't he dating Mandy?" Sasha.

"Obviously he's trying to end that train wreck to be with a blessing that's much bigger than him" said Bayley. "Look you tell him whenever you're ready to, okay. He really makes you happy. Yeah he's weird and yeah he broke Lexie's heart, but…life goes on." As Bayley continued talking, Sasha found herself having flashback of Enzo and Alexa's ill-fated relationship…

* * *

 _October 5th, 2015_

 _Sasha and Bayley were both outside of an Arena somewhere in Boston watching Enzo and Alexa get into another argument._

" _ **UGH I'M SO FUCKING TIRED OF ALL OF YOUR SHIT ERIC!**_ _" Alexa shouted. "_ _ **HOW MANY MORE OF YOUR LIES DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TAKE!?**_ _" "Will you keep your_ _ **MOUTH SHUT!?**_ _" Enzo shouted. "_ _ **BEFORE NEITHER OF US GET CALLED UP TO THE MAIN ROSTER!**_ _" "_ _ **IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT!?**_ _" Alexa shouted. "I happen to care about a lot of things Alexis" said Enzo. "Including you."_

" _Oh you're really trying me now Eric" said Alexa. "All you've ever cared about was lying to me and hurting me and embarrassing me and for what? Just to fuck Mandy on the side!?"_

" _I told ya it wasn't all that simple" said Enzo. "Come on you guys" said Bayley. "Let's go before someone catches wind of this and we all end up on TMZ or something?" "Stay out of it Pam!" Enzo hissed._

" _Don't you ever talk to her like that!" Alexa yelled. "Oh whatever" Enzo said as he rolled his eyes. Alexa proceeded to give a hard slap across Enzo's face. "We are_ _ **FOREVER DONE!**_ _" She walked away from him and threw herself into the backseat of Sasha's rental car._

 _Sasha looked up at Enzo as he was rubbing his throbbing cheek. "We can't just leave him out here like this can we?" she asked. "Mercedes I can seriously care less about him" said Alexa. "Now please…will you just drive?" Alexa began to break down and as she did, Sasha left her flashback..._

* * *

"I know that you were hurt with Manuel and I know that Eric hurt Alexis, but I believe that people have it in them to change if they have a positive force behind them" said Bayley. "And I believe you're that positive force." "I don't think I'll forget the night that they broke up" said Sasha. "No one in that parking lot could" said Bayley. "But that was almost 2 years ago."

Sasha sighed. "I think I'm going to have to avoid him" she said. "At least until I can figure things out." "You can't hide from him forever" said Bayley. "We all see each other more than we see our own families." "Yeah well for now I am" said Sasha.

* * *

Meanwhile, Enzo had arrived to the arena and given that his spirits were still down after his previous encounter with Sasha, he had chosen to remain quiet for most of the day, causing his friends to be concerned about him.

"I'm really sorry about what happened" said Carmella. "But there's someone out there for everyone. Please believe that." "Thanks" Enzo unenthusiastically said as he pulled the hood to his jacket over his head. "Please don't cry" said Carmella. "I ain't cryin'" said Enzo.

"Bullshit!" Cass said. Enzo looked up at him and glared. "Sorry…." Cass said. "You'll be okay. I promise." As Enzo's friends comforted him, his sense of warmth and security suddenly became shattered when Mandy approached.

"May I have a word with my man?" she asked. "Mandy, now isn't the right time" said Carmella. "Step to the side Car-car" Mandy said. "What is it that you want?" Enzo asked. "Do you mind explaining this to me?" Mandy said as she showed Enzo her phone. There he noticed that it was playing the commercial he had did with Sasha 2 months earlier.

"What of it?" Enzo asked. "When did you even have the time to do this shit?" Mandy asked. "What am I in the interrogation room or somethin'?" Enzo said. Mandy folded her arms. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be home for three days this week…try not to be there unless I say it's okay."

"You should go" said Carmella. "Sure" said Mandy. "Anything for the Princess of S.I…." The group waited until Mandy was no longer within earshot before they continued their conversation. "I feel like I've asked you this a million times before, but…why in the fuck are you still living with her much less with her period dude?" Carmella said.

"Because D.V ain't no joke" said Cass. "Eric if she's dangerous" said Carmella. "Please, I'm begging you-we're all begging you to leave her before it's too late." But Enzo couldn't even respond much less defend himself like he would normally do against Mandy given his emotional state.

 **A/N: While writing that argument scene, I literally heard how loud it was. Hmm…guess it's an author thing lol and yeah Enzo, when are you going to leave her?...**


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16: Rain on me**

 **A/N: D.V means Domestic Violence. The reason that I have chosen to not have characters specifically say the statement is based off of the personalities I have given them.**

 **~Emerald loves Sapphire~**

* * *

Over the next several weeks, Sasha continued to ignore Enzo and unfortunately for her, it wasn't as easy as she thought it would be. By now, Enzo had of course noticed and somehow snapped out of his gloomy mood and it was driving him insane. It was now May 29th when Enzo had found himself sitting over in a corner of the cafeteria room watching Sasha as she conversed with Alexa and Bayley.

"Maybe you should let it go man" said Cass. "After all she's been ignoring your texts for the past couple of weeks." "I can't man" said Enzo. "I mean just look at her. She's like an angel or somethin'." "Eric…" said Carmella. "I know you're still a little upset over her but Will and I and Dean would just like to congratulate you on making your decision to move in with your brother last month."

This was true. Enzo had decided to move into his older brother Brandon who lived in Waldwick. He was older than Enzo by 3 years.

"I gotta talk to her man" said Enzo. "It's completely drivin' me insane." "We know that" said Cass. "But right now isn't the time." "There never is a right time for this" Enzo said as he stood up. "Rick man where are you goin'?" Cass asked. But Enzo ignored his friends as he approached Sasha's table.

"Hey um Mercedes can we please talk?" he asked. The trio looked at him. "What are you doing here Eric?" Alexa asked. "Jeez you're like a roach that won't die or something." "Alexis that's not cool" said Bayley. "Mercedes please?" Enzo asked. "We're at work now Eric" said Sasha. "It isn't a good time." Suddenly, Enzo felt what little patience he held onto slipping away.

"Well when exactly will it be?" he asked harshly. "You need to watch your tone" said Alexa. "Oh my fuckin' God Alexis would you please just stay out of it!?" Enzo yelled. "Eric…" Sasha trailed. "What did I ever do to you Mercedes?" Enzo asked. "For weeks you've been avoiding me left and right and ignoring all of my calls, texts everything and for what? All because I asked you out."

"Eric I…" Sasha trailed. "I get why Alexis hates me but what I don't understand is why you're doing this to me" said Enzo. "I'm tired of these little hot and cold games. You can't possibly tell me that you don't have any feelings for me." "Eric, it's neither here nor there" said Sasha. "Neither here nor there-what are ya talkin' about Sash?" Enzo asked.

"I'm sorry Eric" said Sasha. "But I just don't feel the same way about you." These words stunned Enzo as he was left to stand there feeling a world wind of hurt. At the same time, Bayley and Sasha herself knew that she was lying and that too didn't help the overall tone of the situation.

"I…I don't believe you" Enzo said as he struggled to contained the tears that were beginning to well up in his eyes. "I'm sorry Eric" said Sasha. But her words were meaningless to Enzo.

" **YOU ARE THE BIGGEST LIAR I'VE EVER MET IN MY ENTIRE FUCKIN' LIFE!** " he shouted. The whole cafeteria paused in silence as Sasha gasped in shock. After a few moments of remaining completely frozen, she quickly got up from the table and ran away sobbing as Bayley went after her.

"Mercedes **WAIT!** " she called out to her. "Please wait!"

"You are truly an unbelievable piece of shit" Alexa said. "You're obsessed and need help and you're an embarrassment to this company. I don't even know why you're still on the payroll. When the hell will you ever grow up!?" Alexa left the table and went after her friends, leaving Enzo behind. Cass and Carmella ran up to him.

"Oh man oh man oh man" Cass said. "Eric I'm so sorry" said Carmella. "I'm sorry too" Enzo said as he choked back tears. "I'm sorry too"…..

* * *

Sometime later, Carmella and Cass were waiting for Enzo to exit the arena so that they could drive back to their hotel together and as they did, they conversed.

"I feel for him I really do" said Cass. "But sometimes I'd wish he just take our advice for once and listen." "But that's the thing" said Carmella. "This time he actually did and it didn't work." "He'll be alright" said Cass. "He's been through much worse, trust me." When Enzo finally made his way out through the doors, Cass started the car.

"Ready buddy?" Cass asked. "As I'll ever be" Enzo said as he opened up the passenger door and through his duffle bag in. "We're gonna be-" Cass was suddenly interrupted by the sounds of someone's screaming.

" **WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!** " Bayley yelled. "Pamela, what the hell?" Enzo said. "Guys!" Bayley said as she ran up to Enzo. "Can I borrow Eric for a quick moment? It's important." "You guys go on without me" said Enzo. "I'll catch my own ride somehow."

"You sure?" Cass asked. "Yeah" Enzo said as he pointed in Carmella's direction. She was now fast asleep. "Alright man. Seasons. Room 1011." "Gotcha" Enzo said as Cass drove away. "Now Pamela, what was so important that I'll have to cab my way around now?"

"We need to talk about Mercedes" said Bayley. "Listen uh Pam" said Enzo. "I'd rather not. I just need to make it back to my bed and knock the fuck out for the rest of the night, 'kay?" "Eric it's important" said Bayley. She paused as she carefully chose her words. She knew how Sasha felt about him, but she decided that she herself wasn't going to tell Enzo, that Sasha should.

"Give her some time and she'll come around" Bayley said. "Time? I gave her 8 weeks and she flat out ignored me" said Enzo. "And…upset me." "The world doesn't just revolve around you Eric" said Bayley. "I don't even believe that she wants to be friends with me" said Enzo.

"You don't know that" said Bayley. "Oh really?" Enzo sarcastically said. "You don't know her story" said Bayley. "She…there's a reason why she doesn't like to jump into things with guys, even friendships."

"Why?" Enzo asked. "I thought me and her were doin' just fine." "Eric, listen to me I know what I'm talking about" Bayley insisted. "I know Mercedes and the reason why she's so careful is because she was once in a very serious relationship with someone before they broke her heart and that's why she'll always be hard on the men of her life."

"S-someone broke her heart?" Enzo asked. "Who?" "That isn't something for me to say" said Bayley. "But just know that she does care about you." "She does?" Enzo confusingly asked. "Yeah" said Bayley. "But give her time". "I don't even know how to" said Enzo. "She just went a whole 2 months without as much as sharing a room with me…how am I supposed to ever get to know someone that won't let me?"

"By being patient" said Cass. "I know that seriously ain't your thing…but-" "I know" said Enzo. "I know…."

 **A/N: Sometimes patience goes a long way...or does it?**


End file.
